On the Boardwalk
by JesterGirl01
Summary: On a beautiful day on the Boardwalk. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming. But when Steven meets a couple of interesting people, who knows what could happen?
1. Prolouge

**HELLO EVERYONE! Nick Write here, doing a collab story with ma gurl, JesterGirl01. We decided that I make the first chapter, and then we kind of wing it from there. Well, I suppose that is all I have to say. READ ON!**

It was a beautiful day in Beach City. The weather was warm, and the sun was shining bright on the Boardwalk. On the said Boardwalk, a young boy with poofy, black hair happily strolled in the sunlight. However this wasn't just any boy. In fact, this boy was an alien-human hybrid, living with several other aliens that protected the Earth in a galatic war. Thousands of years ago. So, of course, nothing in his life could ever be normal. Except for, he hoped, today. It was nice enough that maybe, he could just relax after all of the saving the world he'd been doing lately. He sighed. Yes, it was indeed hard to be a Crystal Ge-

He was cut from his inner musings, when he accidently bumped into a couple of people the had stopped and looked at one of the booths. One of them had fell over, while the other looked on, surprised. The one that fell was a boy, with blonde hair, at a medium length, and a pair of black, square framed glasses. He looked sorta like Ronaldo, if Ronaldo's hair was calm. He groaned.

" Did anyone catch the number of that bus?"

He reached for the boy's hand, and helped him up, introducing himself in the process.

" Hi, I'm Steven. Sorry for bumping into you like that. I was zoned out."

He grinned, and waved his hand dismissively." Nick, and no need to apologize. I fall like that normally, without a kid that feels like a brick wall crashing into me."

The girl slapped him in the back of his head, knocking his glasses crooked.

" That was mean, Nick."

He grumbled a quiet,' Yeah, yeah.' and got behind her. They were both about a foot and a half taller than the boy, and the girl bent down slightly, to look Steven in the eyes. She grinned.

" Hi, Steven! I'm Ashlon! It's really great to meet you! Sorry for Nick, he tends to not think before he speaks."

Steven blushed, and rubbed the back of his "neck".

" It's no problem. I've had worse. Trust me."

Never loosing her smile, Ashlon straightend back up, just in time for Nick to but an arm around her, and shake her sorta violently.

" So, Steven. I take it you're one of the natives of this here fine city? 'Cause we're absolutely 100% lost right now."

Looking over, Ashlon gave him that look. Yeah, you know the one.

" I thought you said you knew where we were going!"

Nick shrugged." I didn't want you to think we're lost or anything."

Ashlon just looked more deadpan." But we are."

Nick pointed to Steven, who was simply watching the two in confusion.

" Not if he doesn't live here we aren't"

Ashlon sighed, and they were silent, before they both started laughing. They calmed down, and focused back on Steven, who had oddly not left yet.

" So, you think you can show us around town?"

Steven grinned." Of course I can. Anything for a few tourists!"

Saying the last part jokingly, they all continued together on the Boardwalk.

 _ **A Few Hours Later...**_

Once they had all returned where they had met on the Boardwalk, Steven realized that it was getting rather late. Steven turned to the couple, and smiled.

" Well, I guess that ends our tour of the town. I really need to be getting home, and I'm guessing you do to?"

Nick shrugged." Well, I never saw a motel, and there isn't anywhere else for us to stay."

Ashlon sighed, and put her head in her hand.

Steven thought a moment, and then brightened up immediatley.

" I have an idea! You guys can come and sleep over at my place! For a while at least, while you settle in Beach City, if you're planning to stay, or just leaving whenever you need. It'll be like a sleepover, and the Gems love it when I make new friends!"

Ashlon was confused." Gems? Wait, Nick isn't that..."

Nick nodded." That's the alien race that was discovered to have come to Earth thousands of years ago, acording to archeologists and historians...if they're living here, in Beach City, the we only have one choice..."

The couple's face was covered in shadows, and Steven began to get worried, at least, he was until they both looked at him, eyes shining and a smile from cheek to cheek. They yelled in unison.

" PLEASE TAKE US TO SEE THEM!"

 **Howdy ho, what do you know. That, my friends, is what we call " a wrap". Thank you all for reading along, and I suppose I'll talk to you guys again after the next chapter. Please Follow, Favorite, and Review. Remember to be the best bagel you can be, and as always(from me)...**

 **See You On The Flip-Side~Nick Write**


	2. The Crystal Gems!

**This is JesterGirl01 here, picking up the slack my boi left for me. I love Steven Universe and I am totally excited to meet the gems in this chapter, but no further info…. Please read on and enjoy (or don't). I can't really make ya do anything.**

Steven stood there, shocked by the sudden outburst of his new companions. He shook it off. "Well, let's go!" He started walking in one direction and motioned for them to follow. He led them out of downtown Beach City and to a secluded area with a small house rested on the side of a cliff. Steven stopped and pointed up to the house. "That's where I live!"

Nick and Ashlon exchanged glances and Ashlon smiled. "Race you to the gems!"

Nick grinned. "You're on!" The two took off up the slope, leaving Steven behind.

"Hey, guys! Wait up!" Steven ran to catch up with the overly excited couple.

Nick and Ashlon made it to the house and Ashlon burst through the door first. "Ha! I beat you!" She jumped in excitement.

Nick burst through the door not even a second later. He smirked. "I let you win." He chuckled.

Ashlon laughed. "Yeah yeah, whatever."

A second later, Steven burst through the door. "Guys, what was that?"

Ashlon looked at Steven and blushed when she realized what she and Nick had just done. "I'm so sorry, Steven. We sort of just invaded your home with no regards." She gave him a nervous smile.

Nick came up to her and slung an arm around her. He showed no signs of embarrassment. "Yeah, we totally just broke into your house."

Steven looked at them both and giggled nervously. "It's no big deal. I've had weirder things happen to me."

The couple laughed. Ashlon looked around, taking in the surroundings. "Hey, where are the gems?"

Steven shrugged. "They'll turn up eventually." Just as he said that, three figures appeared on the warp pad.

Without hesitation, the couple ran to greet them, forgetting that they were complete strangers to these aliens. Ashlon approached. "Hello, I'm Ashlon and this here is Nick. We've come to stay here for a while. It's a pleasure to meet you." The gems looked at her confused.

Nick cleared his throat. "What she meant was we are strangers to this town and Steven invited us to stay here for as long as we need to." After elaborating, his crazy broke loose. "But yeah, it is a pleasure to meet you guys!" He and Ashlon stood there beaming.

The gems stood there, still a little confused. Steven came over. "What Nick said was true, I invited them here. They are terribly excited to meet you guys obviously." He gave them a nervous smile.

The medium-height, slender gem was the first to speak. "Why, hello. Welcome to our home. My name is Pearl, this is Amethyst (motioning to a short, purple female figure to her right), and this is Garnet (motioning to a tall female with shades)."

Ashlon couldn't contain her excitement. "HI, PEARL! HI, AMETHYST! HI, GARNET!"

Amethyst looked at her and Nick. "Yo." She walked past them and into the kitchen to get some fry bits.

Garnet looked down to them. "Hello, I'm glad to meet a couple of Steven's friends." She smiled slightly and walked past them and tousled Steven's hair as she passed him.

Pearl looked at them and smiled. "Yes, I am glad to meet friends of Steven's. I'm sorry about the wreck here (motioning to a sparkling clean room). I would've cleaned up some if I had known we'd have guests."

Nick chuckled. "You call this a wreck? This is nothing compared to my bedroom."

Ashlon laughed at this very true statement. "What he means is there is no mess, everything is perfectly fine. Thank you, Pearl." She beamed.

Pearl blushed. "Why, thank you." She looked around and noticed the dark night sky. "Are you two hungry?"

Nick shook his head. "We sort of pigged out on fries down on the boardwalk earlier, but this one here could take some more food." He laughed and poked Ashlon in the stomach, making her laugh as well.

"I'm fine, Pearl. Ignore him." She laughed.

Pearl smiled. "Okay then. You two enjoy yourselves. You're welcome to anything in the kitchen. If you need to know where anything in particular is stored, Amethyst and Steven will be glad to show you." She walked away.

The couple looked at each other. "WE JUST MET THE GEMS!" They grabbed each other's hands and jumped for joy.

Steven came to them. "So how did you like them? Pretty great, huh?"

Ashlon looked at him as if she were offended. "'Pretty great?' More like spectacular!" She laughed.

Nick looked at her and smiled. He looked back to Steven. "Yeah, they're awesome!"

Steven beamed. He looked at a clock on the wall. "Whoa, it's 10 o'clock already? I guess time flies when you're having fun." He laughed. "Maybe we should get to bed if we want energy to go adventuring tomorrow."

The couple grew ecstatic and looked at each other. "ADVENTURING?!"

Steven smiled. "Well yeah. What else would we do?"

Ashlon nearly fell over, but Nick caught her. "Thanks." She laughed.

Nick smiled. "No problem, sweets." He giggled at his partner's complete loss of her mind.

Steven laughed. "You guys are hilarious" He looked up to his bedroom. "Come on, I'll show you where we can sleep." He led the two upstairs to where his bed was. "Since you guys are the guests, you can decide who gets the bed."

Everyone glanced from person to person. Nick started, "Milady can take the…" He wa cut of by Ashlon who yelled, "I call the floor!" and laughed until she almost couldn't stand.

Nick glared at her. "I was gonna say you take the bed."

Ashlon giggled. "But you should have the bed, after all, you were the one that was knocked down earlier.

Nick looked at her, knowing there was no point in arguing. "Well, since you won't take the bed, Steven can have it."

Ashlon laughed. "Sounds good."

Nick rolled his eyes but laughed. "Whatever."

Steven crawled into his bed, and the couple found places on the floor to rest. After getting comfortable, everyone said "good night" and passed out almost immediately.

 **Well, this was fun. I bet adventuring tomorrow is gonna be a blast. We'll see what Nick Write has in store for us.**


	3. Oh Look, Lapidot

**This is JesterGirl01 continuing on with the next chapter because Nick Write said I could go ahead and do it. Hope the days adventures go well.**

Ashlon opened her eyes and looked at the time. _7:00_ She sat up on the floor to see if anyone else was awake. She looked to the bed and saw a mass of blankets gently rising and falling with each of Steven's breaths. She looked over on the floor a few feet from her to see a mass of blankets with little movements (Nick was totally passed out XD). "This honestly doesn't surprise me at all." She looked around and decided to go see what the gems were doing. She went downstairs to find Amethyst passed out on the couch. Ashlon sat down on the couch and slipped the remote out from under Amethyst without disturbing her. She turned on the TV to Cartoon Network and watched cartoons until she heard footsteps on the stairs about 30 minutes later. She looked over and saw Steven tip-toeing down the stairs as not to disturb the serenity of the place. She smiled at him and motioned for him to join her on the couch.

Steven made his way to the couch and smiled. "What are you doing up so early?" He sat down and looked at the cartoon that was on. "I love this show, you have good tastes in entertainment." He giggled.

Ashlon giggled. "I know right. It's pretty great. And I always get up early for no reason at all." They sat there another 30 minutes. "Hey, when are we gonna go on an adventure?" She was beaming.

Steven turned to her. "Well technically we could go now, but we should probably wait on your boyfriend to wake up." He laughed.

Ashlon jumped up. "Well, I guess I'll wake him up because I'm ready for this day to get interesting!" She started for the stairs and turned to Steven. "Come on, I may need your help." Steven got up and followed her. They got to the top and paused. "I'll go see what I can do first." Ashlon walked over to Nick and knelt down beside him. "Nick, wake up." Nothing. "Nick, come on. I'm ready for an adventure." Still nothing. She put her hands on him and began to shake him gently, then a little more violently. Her face contorted into a twisted grin as she got an evil idea. She began to pretend to check for a pulse.

Steven looked over and noticed her checking his pulse. "Is everything okay?" He looked sort of frantic.

"He's not breathing!"

"Oh my gosh! I will save him!" Steven ran over to the seemingly dead Nick and took a deep breath and plunged into Nick's lips and blew.

Nick woke up violently, his face red. He shoved Steven off of him. "What are you doing, dude?" He was panting, putting a hand to his heart, eyes wide.

Steven smiled triumphantly. "I just saved your life."

Nick looked confused. "But I wasn't …." He looked to see Ashlon a few feet away, covering her face, tears in her eyes. "I see what happened." He got up and walked to Ashlon, who backed up.

Ashlon laughed. "That was hilarious!" She noticed Nick slowly getting closer with a wicked smile on his face. She giggled. "Now let's not get crazy." She backed up until she hit the wall. Nick got stopped in front of her, raised his hands slowly, and started tickling her until she couldn't breath. "Stop!" She laughed until she cried. "Stop it, Nick!" He finally got tired and stopped. They both laughed. Ashlon fell back on Steven's bed.

Nick walked up to her smiling. "Was that pay back enough?"

She laughed. "More than enough actually."

They both laughed. Steven came to them. "Umm, guys. What just happened?"

Ashlon burst out laughing. And Nick grew red. "She basically made us kiss."

"I'm sorry, Steven. I couldn't pass up an opportunity to get Nick like this."

Steven looked displeased and crossed his arms across his chest. Ashlon walked over to him and squeezed him, apologizing, until he started laughing. "Okay. Okay. I forgive you."

She let go. "Yayyyyyy! Now let's go on an adventure."

Nick nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Steven. What are the plans for today? Anymore gems to meet?"

Steven thought a moment then lit up. "Actually, yes! Two to be exact. Let's go."

Steven started down the stairs, Nick and Ashlon following. He led them outside and towards town. They went to Beach City's car wash. There was a van outside. Steven went up to the van and started knocking on the back doors. "Dad! Dad!"

A man with awkward tan lines opened the doors. He lit up. "Hey, buddy!" He gave Steven a hug. "What's going on?"

"Dad, I need you to take us to see Lapis and Peridot!"

Steven's dad looked at Steven with a questioning look. "Us?" He looked up from his son to see two blondies with glasses standing side-by-side a few feet away.

"Dad, these are my new friends, Nick and Ashlon. They came to town yesterday and were lost, so they are staying with me for a while. I decided to take them to meet Peridot and Lapis today."

Steven's dad beamed. "Nice to meet you two. The name's Greg."

Ashlon bounced forward and shook his hand. "Hi, Greg. I'm Ashlon. It's a pleasure to meet you too." She bounced back for Nick to make a similar scene.

Nick stepped forward calmly and smiled, shaking his hand. "I'm Nick. Nice to meet you as well."

Steven smiled. "Now that everyone is acquainted, let's go!"

Greg led the three adolescents to the side of the van and opened a door. Ashlon hopped in with Nick following. The van door shut. Steven jumped in the passenger seat and Greg took the driver's seat. "Everyone buckled?"

Everyone answered, "Yes." And they were off. They drove out of town and into the country until they approached an old barn. The van came to a stop.

"Here we are!" Steven jumped out and opened the door for the couple. "Come on, they're probably in there." He motioned to the barn. The three excitedly approached the barn entrance and to everyone's surprise, the door burst open and a short green female figure appeared.

Her eyes lit up. "Hey, Lazuli, we have guests!" She cleared her throat as a tall, slim blue female approached calmly. She threw her hands in the air. "Welcome to our home!" She beamed, seeming awfully proud of the mess of a barn the lived in.

Steven giggled. "That's Peridot (pointing to the green one) and that's Lapis (pointing to the blue one)."

Peridot smiled. "Who are these earthlings, Steven?"

Steven pointed to the boy. "That's Nick." He pointed to the girl. "And that's Ashlon."

Peridot smiled. "Well, hello. Come on in." She guided everyone in. "Lazuli and I have fixed this place up and made it our home away from home." She showed everyone around the barn. She picked up a red ribbon and tied it around her neck as a bowtie.

Ashlon nearly lost it. "I love your bowtie! I happen to be a fan of bowties, especially those that are red or pink."

Peridot looked up to the girl in surprise and blushed. "Why thank you. I like to appear my best for our guests." She turned to Steven and whispered. "I like her, she's definitely not a clod."

Ashlon turned to the quiet blue girl. She tapped her shoulder. Lapis turned around and looked at her. "I really like your hair. I love how short and natural-looking it is. It really compliments your form."

Lapis smiled shyly. "Thanks."

Nick looked around. "This place is way better than my house for one reason."

Everyone looked to Nick. Ashlon smiled, already knowing what the reason would be.

Nick laughed. "My little shit siblings aren't here to ruin this."

Ashlon laughed and everyone else just looked confused.

Nick looked to Peridot. "To put it in your terms, they are major clods."

Peridot put a finger to her chin. "Oh, I see. Clods will be clods. All you can do is wish the worst for them and outsmart them."

Nick laughed. "Yeah, I guess so."

Everyone was getting along. Steven was pleased.

After a few hours of chatting and getting to know each other, the sky began to grow darker. Ashlon had a brilliant idea. "We should all sleep here tonight! I like hanging with my girls, Perry and Lapis."

Peridot smiled proudly and Lapis blushed. Peridot spoke up. "I don't see why not."

 **This is as far as I'm gonna go for now. Hope you enjoyed meeting Peridot as much as I did (she's my favorite gem btw).**


	4. Boys Just Wanna Listen To Rock Music

**HELLO EVERYONE! Nick Write here, bringing you the 4th chapter of On The Boardwalk. Ok, I let JesterGirl do two chapters in a row. Sue me. You know what, actually, please don't. But I'm here in my spare time, and I guess I'm bringing you guys a new chapter. Hey what do you know? Also thanks to our one reviewer! Really appreciate your being here. Real nice of you to come back and basically read me and my girl having a good time with almost little to no plot relevance. I may try to change that. But that's enough chit chat, don't you think, my fellow bookworms? Well, all I have to say now is...READ ON!**

Nick glanced outside, and noticed that Ashlon was right.

" It is getting pretty late. However, I don't think all of us should sleep here."

Ashlon seemed a little disappointed." Aw, but it'd be a giant sleepover."

Nick held his hand up." You can stay. I just don't think I should."

Ashlon looked at him, deadpanned." Are you going to elaborate or...?"

The blonde boy beamed." No I am not!"

Steven spoke up as well." Yeah, actually, I need to get back to the temple. I have some stuff to take care of. I can take Nick with me, that way you three can have sort of a...girls night?"

Ashlon looked down." Oh, I see..."

Steven was about to say something else, before she looked back up, beaming.

" That's a GREAT idea!"

The yound half gem sighed, and the blonde boy beside him simply shrugged.

" You get used to it."

The two parties bid their farewells for the night, and parted ways, Nick and Steven heading down to where Greg was napping in his bead. Walking over, Steven gave a couple good pounds on the door, to which stumbiling and things falling could be heard inside. Groggily, the middle aged man opened the door.

" What is it at this hour?"

Steven giggled." Dad, its just got dark."

Greg looked down." Oh, what's up shtewball(oh God how do you even spell that?)"

Steven motioned over to Nick, who was looking at the side of the van, a thoughtful look on his face.

" We need a ride back to the temple. You got us covered?"

Greg nodded." Of course, but uh...where's the girl?"

Steven pointed back up to the barn, where already flashing lights and music could be heard.

" She decided to sleep over with Peridot and Lapis tonight. Nick had some reason to leave, and I have a date with a cold pizza."

Greg smiled." Ok you two, hop in."

Steven looked over to Nick, who was still staring at the side of the van.

" Hey, what is it."

He looked down to the half gem, and then back to the van.

" I feel like I've seen this somewhere before, but I can't figure out just where..."

Steven laughed." My dad got this van back when he was a rock star."

Nick nodded." Ah a rock star. Cool."

He went to follow Steven, but he stopped dead in his tracks, a look of realization on his face.

" Steven, your dad's name is Greg, right?"

Steven nodded, confused." Yeah."

He began to grin." And your last name is Universe, riiiight?"

Steven nodded again." Yeah."

His grin almost tripled in size." That would make your dad Greg Universe, rrriiiiiiight?"

Steven nodded once more, a little creeped out by Nick's huge grin.

Suddenly, the boy went ahead of Steven, jumping into the back of Greg's van, and while everyone got situated, Nick turned to the old rock and roller.

" So. You're Greg Universe?"

Greg was caught off guard with the sudden question. He shook it off, and nodded.

"Uh, yeah I am."

Nick almost lept for joy." That is so COOL! I LOVE your music Mr. Universe!"

Greg laughed a little, blushing." O-oh really?"

Nick nodded enthusiastically." Yes sir! And to meet you in person? That's an even greater honor, especially because it's been a really long time since you've released any music!"

Greg was slightly confused." Wait, you seem a bit young to know about my music. How old are you?"

Nick saluted." I'm 14 going on fifteen, sir!"

Greg eyes widened." You're the same age as Steven!"

Nick looked over." Well, does he like your music?"

Greg nodded." Well, yeah bu-"

The blonde crossed his arms." Then I'm absolutely fine."

He immediatley went back to beaming." So, do you have some old tapes, or CD's, or anything really?"

Greg nodded." Uh, I think there's a box of them back there."

Nick yelled from the back." Found them!"

Greg looked over to Steven." Well that was fast."

Steven chuckled." Yeah. Some pretty interesting people, huh dad?"

Greg laughed good naturedly." You got that right, buddy."

Grunting, Nick placed the box on the seat in between Greg and Steven.

" Blam. Can we play one?"

Greg looked a little nervous." Well, I don't know abou-"

Steven picked one of the ones out of the box, and plopped it into the van's tape deck, and grinned.

" Come on dad! Let's jam."

They listened closely, as the tape rewinded, and the familiar beging to _Comet_ or if you prefered _Like a Comet_ began to play.

Nick nearly had a heart attack." NO WAY THIS IS MY FAVORITE ONE!"

Greg winced at the boy's volume, and grinned sheepishly at Steven, who was getting ready to sing along.

Soon, both of the boys were singing the song at the top of their lungs.

" BUT THAT'S JUST A KNEE-JERK REACTION. STILL THIS IS THE FINAL FRONTIER. EVERYTHING IS SO CLEAR, TO MY DESTINY I STEER."

Greg was blushing, listening to the two scream his song full blast in his van. Soon, he saw the beach, his saving grace, and sighed.

" Alright boys. It looks like this is your stop."

The tape ejected, and Nick grinned happily.

" Steven, I swear. Your dad's the coolest."

Steven laughed." I totally agree."

Greg smiled to himself, and watched as the two boys left out of the van. Suddenly, he had an idea.

" Hey, Steven! Give this to your friend!"

He tossed the tape out of his van, and Steven caught it, and handed it to Nick. He looked down, and saw the tape for Comet, signed by Greg. He looked up, his eyes watering a little.

" Wow...never would I have thought I'd get something like this. I'll make it up to you, Mr. Universe! I swear it!"

Greg laughed." Don't worry about it!"

Nick beamed, and Steven looked up to him.

" Nick, are you crying."

Nick shook his head, turning with streams of tears running down his face, and a huge grin on his face.

" Maybe a little."

The two laughed, and walked back to the temple, Nick admiring the tape the entire time.

Steven looked at the night sky.

" Hey I wonder what the girls are doing."

Nick didn't glance away from the tape.

" Knowing her, it's something that's interesting, and plays into her obsessions."

Steven nodded. Nick stuck the tape in his pocket, and stretched.

" You know, I sure am beat for doing a whole lot of nothing."

Steven nodded." Yeah, I am to."

Nick looked down to the much shorter fourteen year old.

" So Steven, what's the game plan?"

Steven pondered for a moment." Well, I guess tomorrow we could go meet Connie. Or I could invite her over for early training and you guys can watch. She's really good with a sword."

Nick stopped in his tracks, holding a hand up.

" Did you just say swords."

Steven nodded, hoping they weren't doing this again." Yeah? What about it?"

Nick stayed in his position." You know, that sounds really dangerous."

Steven was about to comment, but Nick wasn't done.

He looked back up, stars in his eyes.

" I WANT TO SWORD!"

Steven shook his head. He was so exited that he couldn't even speak english properly.

He laughed." Maybe we can convince Pearl to take in another student or two."

Nick was beaming." Man, Stevo, meeting you was probably the second or third best thing that's impacted my life."

Steven grinned, and the two retreated into the temple.

 **AAAAAAAAAAAND THAT'S A WRAP FOLKS! Thank you all for reading with me today! Who's exited to see what JesterGirl has in store for us in the next chapter! Until then, everyone!**

 **See You On The Flip Side~Nick Write**


	5. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

**JesterGirl01 here bringing you the events of a girls' night! Man, who knows how wild this party could get with me in a barn with two gems? Well I guess I do, since I'm writing this. Oh well, less talk, more party!**

As soon as the guys left the building, the party was on. Ashlon turned to look at the two gems who were exchanging glances. "We don't need them to have fun anyways, so I say we get this show on the road!"

Peridot cleared her throat. "So we're gonna play in the road? Is that not dangerous?"

Ashlon laughed. "What I meant was LETS GET THIS PARTY STARTED!"

Ashlon pulled out her phone and began scrolling through her playlist. "What o you guys like to listen to?"

Lapis looked confused. "We listen to each other quite often."

Ashlon looked at her. "Nah, girl, I meant music. What kind of music do you guys like?"

Lapis looked to Peridot, who shrugged. "We aren't too particular."

Ashlon smirked. "Aight." She selected a Katy Perry song ("California Girls"). "I guess this is okay then."

Lapis and Peridot looked at each other. They looked back to Ashlon, trying to offer a polite smile. They looked uncomfortable.

Ashlon gave an evil smile. "What's the matter, guys? I thought you weren't particular." She inched closer to them.

Lapis tried her best to smile. "This is okay, thank you." She said through her teeth.

Peridot tried to smile, but could no longer control her emotions. "This is what you humans call crap!"

Ashlon laughed. "I knew you guys might have a preference. Don't let me make all the decisions tonight, you guys are part of the sleepover too."

They looked at each other and smiled. Peridot snatched Ashlon's phone from her hands. She started scrolling through the music. Lapis went to watch over her shoulder. Lapis's eyes shined when she saw something that looked interesting. She leaned in and whispered something to Peridot. "Great idea, Lazuli!"

The next thing Ashlon knew, Brendon Urie's beautiful voice pierced the air. "Whoa, Pan!c! Nice choice, I knew you guys had better tastes." She laughed. She spun around dramatically to face the gems. She held an invisible microphone to her mouth, moving her lips to the words of the song. She began to act dramatically as if she were in a music video or putting on a concert.

Peridot glared. "What are you doing?"

Ashlon broke character. "I'm having fun!" She soon switched back to her rock star persona.

Lapis giggled. The song changed to "Death of a Bachelor" and Ashlon inched closer to Lapis. To Lapis's surprise, her hand was grabbed and she was spun around. Her dress spun prettily about her. Peridot noticed and blushed. Lapis giggled. "What are you doing, Ashlon? It's almost like you're trying to fuse." She laughed, tickled by the thought of fusing with a human.

Ashlon laughed. "That would be hella cool, but nah, I'm just dancing. Come on Lapis, dance with me!" She reached her hand out to the blue woman, who hesitated, then gave Ashlon her hand. They started spinning around, both laughing like crazy. They spun until they got dizzy, falling down, laughing like crazy.

Peridot came over to them. "I would like to try the dancing." She looked at Ashlon with pleading eyes.

Ashlon smiled and giggled. "All right." She hoisted herself off of the floor. She reached her hand out for Peridot to take whenever she was ready. Peridot looked at her hand for a moment, then grabbed it. "Bit excited, are we?" Ashlon laughed. Peridot blushed. Ashlon started moving her hips in a completely undignified way.

Peridot's eyes widened at the display. "Ummm, that's not what you did with Lapis."

Ashlon laughed of course it isn't, the song changed so my movements change. Ya gotta be loose, enjoy anything life throws at ya!"

Peridot examined how Ashlon was dancing and started to mimic that. Ashlon giggled. "Now you're getting it! You can do your own moves though."

Peridot started shake her hips more vigorously, sort of bouncing up and down. She started to laugh. "How's this for dancing?" She danced over to Ashlon and spun around her.

Ashlon laughed and clapped her hands. "It's great, Peridot! Keep up the awesome!" She turned and saw Lapis out of place. "Come on, Lapis! Let's see what you got!" Lapis looked up at her. She came closer and began to sway her hips slightly. "There ya go!" Lapis continued and spun around, her dress seeming to hover for a moment, she outstretched one leg and slid in back in. She spun again and threw her head back, laughing.

"This is so much fun!" Lapis continued to do her own thing. The three girls continued to dance like there was no tomorrow until they grew tired and plopped down on the floor.

"You guys are great!"

Lapis and Peridot smiled. Peridot grew curious. She looked to Ashlon. "So what can we do now?"

"Well, I could show you guys a particular skill of mine." Ashlon smirked.

Peridot raised an eyebrow. "A skill, aye?"

"That's right."

"All right, let's just see this skill of yours."

"Oh you'll love it! Is there a mirror here?"

Lapis coughed. "Umm, yeah, hold on." She got up and dug in a barrel. She exposed an old mirror.

"Wonderful." Ashlon took the mirror. She sat down, getting comfy on the floor. She oulled her purse to her and dug out a palette."

"Umm, what is that?" Peridot was leaning over Ashlon's shoulder to see.

"It's cosplay paint." Ashlon dug a brush from her purse. She dipped it into the white and began excitedly painting her face.

Peridot and Lapis were both watching wide-eyed. Peridot spoke up. "What are you doing?"

Ashlon laughed. "You'll see, just wait!" She continued to add layers of white until it appeared to be nice and even. She put the brush down.

"Is that it?"

"Nope, just letting the white dry."

"Oh, I see." Peridot inched closer.

A few minutes passed. Ashlon dug out another brush and dipped it in black. She began to accent different areas of her face with black. She circled her eyes in black, painted on some black eyebrows and created a realistic large mouth with teeth. She accented a spot on each cheek and on the end of her nose. When she put the brush down, she had a skull face. "Ta da! It is I, the Great Papyrus! Nyeh Heh Heh!" She said in a voice.

Peridot jumped. "But I thought you were Ashlon!"

Ashlon laughed. "I am, I am just cosplaying as a skeleton, meaning I'm dressed up as one."

Lapis came to get a closer look. She tilted her head. "So you sort of transformed into something you're not?"

"Yeah, sort of. Not a permanent change, but just for fun."

"How is this supposed to be fun?"

"Real life gets boring sometimes and all you want to do is use your imagination and play pretend. Be whoever you want for a little while." She smiled.

Peridot thought for a moment, then she jumped up. "I would like to try this cosplay!"

Ashlon giggled. "All right, who would you like to become today?"

Peridot shrugged. "I don't know."

Ashlon got an idea, she pulled her phone out and began to scroll through her pictures. She got to some Undertale characters. She pointed to a skeleton in a red scarf. "That's who I am right now. You can scroll through these characters and decide on something." She looked back at Lapis. "Come on, Lapis, you can chose too." Lapis came to Peridot and they both looked through the pictures of characters.

Peridot seemed to be taking a liking to Sans. "I think I want to try this one."

Ashlon smiled, "Would you like me to paint your face or would you like to do it yourself?"

Peridot looked at her. "I can do it all by myself." She snatched the white paint and got to work.

"Okay then." Ashlon turned to Lapis. "You have someone you'd like to try?" She was looking at a picture of Mettaton.

"I think it would be cool to try her."

Ashlon giggled. "Mettaton's actually a dude, but okay, I see why you'd think otherwise. Would you like me to do it?"

Lapis looked over at Peridot who seemed to be getting frustrated, making a complete mess on her face. She looked at Ashlon and gave a nervous smile. "Would you mind doing it?"

Ashlon looked at Peridot and back to Lapis, she laughed. "Nah, of course not." She motioned for Lapis to come sit on the floor in front of her. Lapis sat down and Ashlon got to work.

 **10 minutes later…**

"Done!" Ashlon was excited. She borrowed the mirror from Peridot and gave it to Lapis.

Lapis smiled, looking very pleased. "It looks great, thanks."

"No problem, girl." Ashlon gave the mirror back to Peridot.

Peridot looked at herself and tried to smile, but it quickly turned to a frown. "Such a cloddy job!" She threw the mirror and sat pouting, mumbling about the horrible job she did.

Ashlon gave her a sympathetic smile. "Don't beat yourself up, Peridot. It's just your first time." She came and sat beside Peridot. "Would you like me to do it?"

Peridot mumbled something, still pouting, then handed the paint she was using to Ashlon. "Yes, please," she muttered quietly, still frowning, feeling defeated.

"Come on, Peridot. Sans has a smile. Smile for the artist." She said in a baby-talking voice.

Peridot was looking down, still frowning. "You think a stupid voice will get me to…" She looked up and saw Ashlon smiling stupidly. She grinned a little.

"I know you've got more in you than that." Ashlon said in the stupid voice with the stupid smile.

Peridot laughed. "Okay, okay, jeez." She closed her eyes and let Ashlon cake the white on her face. She added similar black accents to Peridot's face.

She put the brush down and grabbed the mirror, holding it in front of Peridot. "All right, you can open your eyes."

Peridot opened her eyes and jumped back in surprise. "Holy diamonds! I just scared myself!" She laughed. "It looks great!"

The three admired each other's new temporary looks. They all laughed.

Ashlon turned some music on. "How about some more dancing, ladies?"

They yelled in unison. "Yeah!" They all began to strut their stuff in their own unique ways.

They danced until, once again they got tired. They all laid down on the floor with their heads together in a circle, staring at the high ceiling.

Ashlon decided to asked something. "Have you guy ever been in a relationship? Do gems do that?"

Lapis was confused. "What do you mean? Gems can fuse if that's what you mean."

"Is that fun?"

"Depends on the gem you're fused with. If it's a gem you like, it can be very nice, but if it's with a gem you just don't get along with, it's a very bad experience."

"Have you ever been fused?"

"Yes."

"Was it a good fusion."

"We made a strong fusion, but it was not a healthy connection."

"Was it with Peridot?" Ashlon asked, confused. Peridot blushed.

"No, this particular gem makes fusing with Peridot seem like a good idea by comparison." he giggled and nudged Peridot.

"Very funny, Lazuli."

Ashlon laughed. "I can't imagine any gem being a terrible partner, you guys are pretty great. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl are great too."

"Yeah, but not all gems are like us."

"I see." Ashlon grew quiet.

"It's okay that you asked, you were just curious." Lapis smiled. "But now I'm curious." She laughed. "Have you ever been in a relationship? I mean, I know humans don't fuse."

Ashlon blushed. "Yes, I am actually currently in a relationship."

Peridot jumped in. "I bet it's the kid we met earlier, the one that looks just like you!"

Ashlon laughed. "Yeah, it is Nick."

Peridot beamed. "I knew it! I'm a genius!"

Lapis smirked. "It doesn't take much of a genius to guess that one, Peridot." She laughed.

"Well, I didn't hear you say who it was!" Peridot exclaimed in defense.

Lapis laughed. "Because you didn't give anyone a chance to say anything before you yelled who it was."

"Whatever."

The three laughed.

Ashlon yawned and looked at her phone. _1:00 a.m._ "Ummm, do you guys go to sleep?"

Peridot laughed. "We gems don't need sleep!"

"Well, that's wonderful for you gems, but us humans unfortunately need our rest." Ashlon laughed.

Lapis giggled. "I guess you're getting tired."

"Yeah, sort of."

"Well, you can go to sleep, maybe we could try it too. Lapis looked at Peridot and waited for her response. "What do you think, Peridot?"

"Oh yeah, I guess we could give it a try." She looked around confused. "How exactly do you sleep?"

"Well, you lie down, relax your body, clear your mind, and you just sort of drift off into Dreamland."

"What is this Dreamland you speak of?"

"It's a magical place where anything can happen. It's all in your head. You can have really pleasant dreams, or really horrible nightmares."

Peridot was excited. "I would like to experience the pleasant dreams!"

Lapis also grew excited. "I would also like to experience such happiness."

"That's great. All you have to do is relax and drift off to that happy place."

Peridot tried it. "This doesn't seem to be working."

Ashlon sat up and looked at Peridot. "That's because you're all tense. Don't try to fall asleep, just relax your body and it will come." Peridot loosened her muscles, her breathing beginning to steady. In a matter of seconds, the green gem was sleeping like a baby. "Aww, how cute," Ashlon whispered. She turned to see if she needed to help Lapis, but as soon as her eyes hit Lapis, she saw her, laying there in peaceful slumber. Ashlon laid back down and relaxed her own body, soon drifting off to her own place of peace.

 **Whoa, that was a fun sleepover. I knew I could get them to loosen up and have a good time. Well, hopefully you enjoyed the events of our night.**


	6. Smooth Moves, Baby!

**HELLO EVERYONE! Nick Write, bringing you the 6th chapter of On the Boardwalk! I have to say, last chapter will be hard to top. But I think I can do it! What do you think? Oh, and I'd like to thank the one person that seems to be reading this at all, KimDWil71! Really appreciate you. Cause otherwise this would just be falling flat on its face, only me and JesterGirl to be the ones to read it. Alrighty then, my fellow bookworms! Let's READ ON!**

Steven sighed, watching as his friend walked down the porch, after a good day of practice with Pearl. Suddenly, he felt a tap on the back. Spinning around, he saw Nick, grinning mischeviously.

" I see that you have a little problem."

Steven blushed a little." No, I'm fine."

Nick looked at him, deadpanned." Yeah, and I didn't binge watch half of Fairy Tail in one night."

Steven was confused, but Nick didn't give him the time to reply.

" Look buddy, I'll teach you how to get with the chicks. Call me your Smooth Tutor."

They were on the beach not seconds after, Nick grinning enthusiatically.

" Alrighty then, Rule Number 1 for being smooth; Timing is everything."

Steven listened intently, and Nick continued.

" Never, EVER, rush into something. Smooth takes perfect timing to insert. Here, I'll show you."

He called Ashlon over, who had recently came back from her sleepover. She walked over, slightly confused.

" Yeah Nick, what is it."

Out of nowhere, he had a pair of shades on. She looked at them, and nodded.

" Nice shades. What is it that you need though?"

Nick snapped and pointed at her, smirking.

" I bet they'd be nicer on you."

Ashlon blushed a little, and giggled, noticing Steven watching intently.

" Oh I see what's going on. Who is it."

Nick pulled his shades down." Connie."

Ashlon squealed." Awww that's adorable. Young love."

Nick looked at her for a minute.

" He's the same age as me."

Ashlon shrugged." You're all younger than me."

Nick nodded." True."

They both turned to the boy, who sat there, still confused a little.

" So, I have to wait."

Nick nodded." Sometimes it takes a while, and sometimes you don't ever get the chance to say something smooth."

Steven nodded." So, do I get to try?"

Nick shook his head." No, there's a few more rules to it."

He grinned." Rule Number Two; never seem like you're trying too hard. It ruins the whole thing. Here's another example."

Ashlon turned back to him." Hey Nick, how are you."

He snapped again, his shades on." Ayy girl you lookin' fine today."

She sorta stared at him, before she bursted into laughter. Nick turned back to Steven.

" See. Most women would either laugh you off, or slap you. Here's an example of how to do it right."

They refaced eachother." Hi Nick, how was your day?"

Nick shrugged." It was fine." He grinned, and went into position to deliver the kill." Just like you girl."

Ashlon giggled, and Nick went back into teacher mode." Alright Steven, those are the most important steps. Now for some practice."

He tossed Steven the shades." You're gonna need these."

They walked into town, and went into the Big Donut. Walking up to the front counter, Steven looked back to Nick, who was standing outside, giving him a thumbs up. Steven walked up to Sadie, and requested a couple donuts. Sadie nodded, and bagged up the donuts.

" How have you been Steven, it's been a while since I've seen you."

Steven nodded, putting the shades on, and pointing like Nick did." I see you all the time in my dreams girl."

A light blush dusted Sadie's cheeks, before she started to laugh.

" Where'd that come from Steven?"

Steven blushed a little." I've been taking lessons on how to be smooth."

Sadie laughed again." You got someone in mind to use these lessons on?"

Steven's blush deepened, giving Sadie her answer. She held her hands up.

" I won't pry that much, but I'd say that you've got it in the bag."

She winked, and Steven beamed, grabbing the donuts, and running out of the store. Nick was grinning widely when he run out, holding his hand up for a high five, to which Steven complied. Steven looked proud, and Nick was even prouder.

" You, are a prodigy, my gem friend."

He ruffled the shorter boy's hair, and Steven slid the shades back on.

" I think I'm ready to take on Connie."

Nick almost fell over." Woah woah woah buddy, there's still a couple more rules to go over before you're ready for that. Which brings us to rule number three; seem confident. Women are like predators, and you are the prey. With any sign of weakness, they'll pounce."

Steven shuddered, the analogy making him think of Corrupted Jasper, but he listened nontheless.

" Watch. ASHHHHLOOOONNNNN!"

She came running from the beach, panting.

" What is it?"

Nick grabbed her by the hand suddenly, spinning her around, and lowering her in his arms. She blushed heavily, and he flipped the shades down.

" Sorry, I thought I might sweep you off your feet the same way you sweep yourself through my thoughts."

She giggled, and Nick brought her back up to her feet, where she blushed a little more for a minute. Nick beamed.

" See, if I would've been nervous, that entire thing could've fell to peices. That leads us to our fourth and final rule; Never let your smooth control you. I've seen many a good man be overwhelmed with this information, and turn into scum of the Earth, and I don't think I could see that happen to you."

Ashlon shook her head." What he means, is don't become a player. It's never good."

Steven nodded his head." Oh, so don't be a Kevin."

Nick nodded." Yeah that."

Steven decided not to question how the blonde knew Kevin, but he steeled himself.

" Let's do it."

Nick nodded." It's time to use all I've taught you today, and charm yourself a Connie."

Steven grinned, whistling, and a huge pink lion showed up. Nick looked on in amazement.

" Awesome. I'm ready."

Ashlon, who was also there, almost screamed in exitement." We get to ride that!?"

Steven nodded." Lion here is the best of transportation in all of Beach City. We're riding first class."

They all hopped on the back of the lion, and Steven patted it, making it bark, creating a portal it jumped in. The two blondes looked in amazement the whole three seconds they were in the portal, and they arrived right in front of Connie's house. They all hopped off Lion, Nick and Ashlon going to the window, and Steven going to the door. They both gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up. He gulped and knocked on the door. A few seconds passed, and Connie opened the door. She looked surprised to see the gem at her door so soon after she had left. It hadn't even been half an hour.

" Oh, hey Steven. What brings you here."

Steven slid on the glasses, doing the signature pose." I just came to see you."

Connie was a little confused." Uh, ok. I'm just saying, it's literally been like half an hour since I left your house. In fact, I just got home."

Steven propped himself in the doorway." I just can't stand being away from you, even if it's only been a short time."

Connie blushed, and her confusion deepened." Yeah okay. Come in Steven. I'll get us something to drink."

He grinned." I don't need anything, cause there's already a tall glass of water right here."

Connie stopped dead in her tracks, and turned around. Steven was blushing heavily, eyes frantically looking around under his glasses, and sweat beading down his face. Connie sighed.

" Steven, what's gotten into you?"

He was panicing, but Nick's voice echoed in his mind.

' _Stay confident.'_

He gulped, and kept his composure." Nothin' but a bad case of love, that only you can cure."

Connie held her hand up." Ok Steven, who put you up to this."

Steven's resolve crumbled, and he took the glasses off, and sighed.

" Nick was trying to teach me how to be smooth."

Connie smiled softly at the hybrid in front of her, and put a hand on his shoulder.

" Look, Steven. You don't need that to be charming. I don't think it works for you. Take another girl's advice, and just be you if you're trying to get a girl."

Nick and Ashlon watched on, Nick sighing as she gave him the advice. Ashlon nudged him.

" She's right."

Nick sighed again." I know."

Connie grinned, glancing out the window, and seeing blonde.

" Besides, Nick is an idiot anyway."

She stated it loudly and obviously, hearing an indigenent "Hey!" from the outside. She giggled, and focused back on Steven, who was laughing too. He grinned, and they a light blush dusted their faces.

" Say, why don't we watch some TV while you're hear. I've got a whole season of the original Sailor Moon."

Steven jumped for joy, and they put the tape in, watching the show, while Nick and Ashlon were still in the window.

Ashlon turned to the boy." Well, even if your lessons didn't do exactly what you wanted, I think we still got a pretty good result."

Nick held his hand up." Ah, I suppose we'll have to follow my own advice. Timing is everything, and it'll happen eventually, especially at the rate their going now.

Ashlon laughed." Yeah, I guess so."

And all four sat in comfortable silence.

 **AAAAAAAAND THAT'S A WRAP FOLKS! Now, that got a little mushy, but I really enjoyed writing it. Now, I pass the torch to you, Sweets. What do you have in store for our readers? I suppose they'll have to Follow to find out. Favoriting and Reviewing wouldn't be bad either folks. Remember, even from outside a window, anime is still good. Thank's for reading folks, and as always...**

 **See You On The Flip Side~Nick Write**


	7. Truly Coming Together

**Yo, JesterGirl is back and excited about this chapter. I think this story is definitely "coming together" quite nicely. Hehehee please, read on and enjoy.**

After a good 2 hours of Sailor Moon, it began to get dark. Nick and Ashlon went inside to retrieve Steven, he and Connie said good bye. As Steven was walking out of the door, Connie called him. "Steven!" Steven turned around. Connie snapped her fingers. "I'll be seeing you sooner than you think."

Steven was confused. "What do you mean?"

Connie smirked. "I'll be seeing you in my dreams." Connie burst into laughter and everyone joined in.

Nick turned to Connie. "Now that's what I call 'smooth'." He laughed.

Steven, Nick, and Ashlon left Connie's house and ventured back to the temple for some rest. They entered and went straight to their spots on the floor. Everyone was passed out within minutes.

The next morning, Ashlon woke up to find Steven missing from his bed. She looked around, but no Steven. She walked downstairs and searched the rest of the temple, but no Steven. _I wonder where he could be._ Laughter sounded from outside. Ashlon jerked her head towards the door. She walked outside to see Steven and Connie outside practicing. She continued to watch them until Connie dropped the sword, she laughed. Steven walked up to her and tripped on the sword and Connie caught him. They laughed and light burst forth for a second. When the light faded, a tall female with long curly hair was seen standing in their place. _Omg what just happened?!_ Ashlon put a hand over her mouth.

The tall girl looked up, noticing Ashlon standing there in awe. She laughed and waved. "Heyy, Ashlon!"

Ashlon almost fell down. "Steven? Connie? Is that you?"

The girl looked extremely happy. "Yes! Well actually, we're Stevonnie!"

Ashlon had a jolt of realization. _Steven and Connie make Stevonnie._ She walked down to where the girl was. "So you guys some how fused?"

The girl beamed. "Actually, that's exactly what we did."

Ashlon just stood in utter amazement. "Wow! That is so cool! I wish I could do that! Wait, how did you guys do it?"

Stevonnie looked at her and smiled. "Steven is a human with gem magic, so when he gets a special connection with another human, they can fuse." She gestured to herself. "And thus I was born." She laughed.

Ashlon beamed. She looked in amazement at Stevonnie. "Oh wow, that is soooo cool! I wish I could do that." She thought a moment. "You said something about having a special connection with someone for fusion to work, right?"

"Well, it makes the fusion stable if the relationship is mutual, but yes, you must connect."

Ashlon put a finger to her chin and thought. "So, do you think I could do it if I believed hard enough?" She looked wide-eyed at the fusion.

Stevonnie thought a moment. "I'm not too sure that will work for ordinary humans, but sure, I see no harm in trying."

Ashlon jumped for joy. "Yay! I'll go wake up Nick!" She turned around and ran into the temple and up to where Nick was passed out on the floor. She slid to a halt just before crashing into him and dropped to her knees. She placed both hands on him and started to shake him gently, then more vigorously. "C'mon, Nick, you gotta wake up! I need you to try something with me!"

He opened one eye and looked at her and rolled over. He mumbled into his pillow, "No, I don't want to cosplay now." He tried to go back to sleep.

Ashlon laughed. "No, not cosplay, silly!" She shook him. "Please, Nick, you will love it!"

He turned over and smirked at her. "Oh, will I?"

She giggled. "Absolutely, now come on!"

"Oh all right." He sat up and stretched. He looked to see Ashlon beaming, clearly in an overexcited state. "Wow, this must be good."

She smiled. "Yasss!" She offered him her hands and he took them. She helped him up off the floor and bolted downstairs and out the door.

Nick watched. "Ummm, okay. I guess the surprise is outside." He went outside and saw Ashlon and a tall unfamiliar girl down on the beach looking up at him. Ashlon was beaming, she gestured for him to come down. He looked at the girl confused, then he looked to Ashlon, hoping for some kind of explanation. He got none. He looked back to the girl. He held out a hand to shake her hand. "Uhh, hi, I'm Nick." She took his hand and shook it.

The girl laughed. "I know who you are."

Nick looked at Ashlon who was giggling at his reaction. "Can someone please tell me what's going on?"

Ashlon shrieked in excitement. "It's Steven and Connie!"

Nick looked back at the girl, now noticing features of Steven and features of Connie, but in one girl. He jumped when it struck him. "A fusion!" He was in awe.

Ashlon screamed. "I know right!"

The girl looked at them both and laughed. She looked back to Nick. "Yeah, I'm a fusion. The name's Stevonnie."

Nick was shocked. "This is incredible! H-how is this possible? I mean I figured gems could fuse but you two are both humans, mostly."

Stevonnie shrugged. "I guess Steven's gem magic allows him to fuse with humans when having a connection with them."

Nick wanted to know more about this fusion thing. "So, uhhh, do you think by any chance humans could fuse?"

Stevonnie smiled. "Well, Ashlon wanted to know the same thing and we said that we weren't sure if it'd work, but there is no harm in trying."

Nick looked at Ashlon, who was giving him the biggest smile he'd ever seen. "So this is what you wanted me here for?" He smirked.

Ashlon nodded. "Wouldn't it be so cool?! I mean that is amazing! I'm sure if we tried hard enough, we could make it work."

He thought a moment and smiled. "Yeah, let's try." He walked up to Ashlon and took her by the hand. "Let's fuse, baby!" She blushed and giggled. He spun her around, sweeping her off her feet similar to how he had done yesterday. He lowered her and they both smiled and closed their eyes, waiting for the magic to happen. They opened their eyes a few seconds later to see each other, still two people. He picked her back up and they laughed, sort of embarrassed. "Whelp, that didn't work." He turned to look at Ashlon, who looked sad, but she forced a smile when he looked. He walked over to her and slung an arm around her shoulders. "It's alright, sweets. We don't need fusion to be great." He offered her a smile.

She looked up at him. She smiled. "Yeah, that's true." She laughed.

They turned to Stevonnie, who had watched their attempted fusion. "I'm sorry it didn't work for you guys. I think it was cute though." She smiled at them.

Nick looked at Stevonnie. "Yeah, we are pretty cute." Everyone laughed.

Stevonnie got an idea. "We should go train together like this!"

Nick beamed. "That's a wonderful idea, let's go get the swords." He turned to Ashlon. He offered her his hand. "Milady?" She smiled and took his hand and they ran, him leading her to where they could find the swords. They each got a sword.

Stevonnie had Rose's sword. "Alright, let's go get Pearl so that we can go to the ruins." They went through the temple and and warped to Pearl's room, finding her trying to clean her already spotless room.

She turned to her visitors. "Oh hello, what are you guys doing in here?" She looked at the three (4) people in her room.

Stevonnie smiled. "We hoped you could come to the ruins with us for us to train."

Pearl smiled. "Does everyone have weapons?" Everyone showed her their swords. "Excellent!" She began to follow them out of her room when she remembered something. "Wait one moment." She darted off and came back with a pink pouch strapped around her waist.

Stevonnie beamed. Nick and Ashlon were confused. Ashlon asked, "Umm, Pearl. What is that?" She pointed to the pink pouch.

Pearl looked down at the pouch and then back up to her. "Why, this is the Pearl Prize Pouch!"

Ashlon was still confused. "What's it for?"

Pearl laughed. "It contains the prizes for the good trainers. She beamed.

Ashlon's face lit up. "Yayyyy! I love prizes!"

They all warped out of Pearl's room, and warped to the ruins. Pearl took on the tone of a tour guide. "Welcome to the ruins, where a lot of our training takes place."

Ashlon and Nick looked around. Nick spoke first. "This is neat." Ashlon nodded in agreement.

Pearl started to spit out orders. "Fighting stance, please."

Stevonnie quickly got into a position, with her knees bent slightly for a more powerful stroke. Her right foot in front with her left foot slightly behind, providing for a nice position to pivot, striking them oncoming enemy. Her sword was drawn, held diagonally.

Nick and Ashlon observed Stevonnie's form and mimicked the stance themselves.

Pearl clapped her hands excitedly. "Wonderful form, everyone!" She pulled a piece of chalk out of her pouch and wrote down everyone's name on a chalkboard. She then pulled out three star stickers and placed one by each of their names. She turned back to her pupils. "Jab!"

Stevonnie took the sword and thrust it forward forcefully, as if stabbing something directly ahead of her.

Nick and Ashlon did this as well.

"Amazing!" Pearl pulled out three more stickers, placing each in front of a name. She turned back. "Slice!"

Stevonnie brought herself back to the original stance and pivoted, slicing through the air swiftly.

Nick and Ashlon did this also.

Pearl beamed. "You guys are blowing me away!" Three more stickers emerged from the pouch. She turned back. "Block!"

Stevonnie went back to original form and held the sword out in front of her diagonally.

Nick and Ashlon copied this motion.

Pearl was ecstatic. "I think I know a couple of humans and a fusion ready for the simulation to begin." She pulled out three more stickers and placed them on the board. She turned back to them and smiled.

Ashlon was confused. "Pearl, we only practiced 3 moves other than the stance. Are you sure we're ready to actually fight?"

Pearl laughed. "Why, the 3 moves you practiced are the most important ones. Master those three and you'll do just fine." She smiled.

Ashlon was unsure but decided not to question her anymore.

"Okay, so as a part of the fighting simulation, you will fight holographic projections of myself. A deciding blow will make them poof into nothing. Use the three moves you know to attack and defend." She made about 10 Pearl holograms appear, all of them equipped with a spear. "Ready? Begin!"

Stevonnie lunged forward, slicing through one Pearl, she disappeared. Nick jabbed a Pearl in her midsection. _Poof._ Ashlon sliced swung her sword sloppily, missing the Pearl closest to her. Pearl called out, "Form! Remember your form!" Ashlon corrected her stance and swung a second time, poofing the Pearl away. Stevonnie, Nick, and Ashlon continued to slice their way through the Pearls with relative ease, until there was one left. They all looked at each other and lunged forward at the Pearl who jumped out of the way. Ashlon was amazed. "Wow, this one is different!"

Stevonnie looked to Nick and Ashlon. "Yeah, the first Pearls are usually pretty simple. The last one is more of Pearl's real challenge." She swung at Pearl and almost hit her. Pearl swung back and Stevonnie blocked the virtual blow. Nick came behind Pearl and sliced through her. She poofed.

Nick was happy. "Wow, I made the deciding blow!"

Ashlon beamed. "Great job, Nick!" She ran up to him and threw her hand in the air.

Nick saw her hand in the air and knew immediately what to do. He threw his hand in the air. They both swung their hands forward, giving the ultimate high five then clasped each other's hands. They laughed still holding onto each other. A bright light shown. A few moment later they opened their eyes. "Nick? Ashlon? Are you there? Yeah, I'm there." They looked down - one body. "We did it!" The newly formed fusion jumped into the air.

Stevonnie and Pearl stood there shocked,utterly amazed. Pearl spoke first. "Humans CAN fuse? That's impossible!"

Stevonnie looked the fusion up and down and smiled. "I guess not."

The fusion was examining herself - tall; short, stylishly messy hair; a slim waist with wider hips. She wore black skinny jeans, an edgy-looking loose red and navy plaid shirt, and a black leather jacket. "We look amazing!" She spun around. "What should we call ourself?" The fusion thought a moment. "How about Nashln? That's great!" The fusion looked up and smiled. She waved. "Nice to meet you all, we're… I'm Nashln." She laughed.

Stevonnie beamed. "You look spectacular!"

Nashln blushed. "Thank you."

Pearl walked up to the new fusion still in shock. "How did you do it? It is supposed to be impossible for humans to fuse."

Nashln shrugged. "I have no idea, but this is great!" She skipped around excitedly. "We should go show ourselves off."

Stevonnie smiled. "Good idea, let's go to town!" The two fusions darted for the warp pad and warped back to the temple. They ran outside and towards town. They burst through the doors of The Big Donut.

Sadie looked up to see what the commotion was. Her eyes widen when she saw the two tall attractive girls standing before her. Lars heard the loud entrance and came from the break room, rubbing his eyes and stretching. "What is all the noise?" He opened his eyes and became fully aware of the two girls who had entered. His jaw dropped and he silently joined Sadie behind the counter.

Stevonnie inched closer. "Hey, guys. We'll, I mean I'll take two donuts." Sadie rang it up. The blonde stepped forward and smiled. "I'll also have two donuts." Sadie rang it up.

Nashln began digging in her pockets for some money. Stevonnie looked over and smiled. "Don't worry about it, I've got it."

Sadie looked at them both shaking her head. "Nah, they're on the house." She reached underneath the counter and put 4 donuts in a bag.

The girls smiled. "Thanks," they said in unison. Stevonnie took the bag and they exited to find a bench. They sat down on a bench in town and each girl ate two donuts.

Nashln looked at Stevonnie. "Wow, who knew fusions got special treatment?" She laughed.

Stevonnie smiled. "Yeah, Sadie and Lars acted in a similar way when they saw us this way for the first time too."

"This is great!" The fusions finished their donuts and made their way back to the temple.

They entered the temple, meeting Pearl in the middle of the room. "I was just on my way to look for you two. I think I may know how Nick and Ashlon were able to fuse."

Nashln beamed. "Really?"

Pearl nodded. "I found a journal that belonged to Rose. I flipped through it looking for answers when I can across something." She opened the journal, flipping to a page that displayed what looked like space ships hovering over the ground. "According to this journal, gems who came to this planet from Homeworld originally done experiments on humans. They attempted placing pieces of shattered gems into the hearts of select humans, those who were strong. They put these humans back on Earth to live normal lives. They observed how these humans behaved and what they could do. Apparently, some of these humans developed gem-like abilities, like fusion for example. The gems were impressed with this discovery, but after the war 5000 years ago, these Homeworld- devoted gems were forced off of the planet. These special humans were allowed to live among normal humans, passing on gem abilities to their offspring. Through the generations, the humans had forgotten what their ancestors had gone through or that there were ever gems here in the first place. The only explanation for your ability to fuse is that you both are descendents of the special humans experimented on."

Nashln stared wide-eyed. "That it awesome!" She jumped around excitedly. "We are part gem! We are part gem!"

Stevonnie laughed. "Wow, that's amazing!"

Pearl smiled. "It is rather fascinating. Now that we know you both have certain abilities, we need to figure out what those abilities are and you need to learn how to use these powers."

Nashln was excited. "Sweet!"

Pearl looked outside, it was dark. "Wow, time sure does fly when you're researching. I guess you all should rest. We'll have a busy day tomorrow if we're gonna start our little trials."

Stevonnie jumped. "Oh, I need to go home!" Steven and Connie unfused.

Steven jumped up. "C'mon, let's go get Lion and I'll take you home."

Connie followed Steven out and turned around to wave. "Bye, Nashln!"

Nashln waved. "Bye!"

Nashln walked up the stairs and sat on Steven's bed. "I guess we should unfuse now." They both thought about separation and suddenly, they were both sitting on the bed, side-by-side.

Nick looked at Ashlon. "That was amazing! It felt great being fused with someone you thoroughly enjoy being with." He smiled at her.

She blushed and giggled. "Agreed." She threw herself back on the bed and got comfortable. "I'm certainly tired though."

Nick laid on his side, propping his head up with his hand. "I feel ya, sweets. I'm exhausted." He looked at Ashlon and laughed. "Get too comfortable and Steven will be sleeping on the floor."

She laughed. "Yeah, I'd better get up." She went to sit up but fell back down. "Eh, I'm too tired to get up." She closed her eyes.

Nick laughed. "Ya know, right now would be a perfect moment to make my move." He smirked and cut his eyes at her. "Umm, you dead?" No answer. He listened a moment, hearing her breathing become slow and steady. He smiled. "I guess you were too tired, sweets." He leaned down and kissed her softly on the cheek, she smiled in her sleep and turned over. He carefully got out of bed and found a blanket. He put it over her and got comfy on the floor. He closed his eyes and drifted off to Dreamland.

 **Well, that was fun! Wow, being fused certainly takes a tole on the body. As a matter of fact, I seem to be feeling this exhaustion in person too. Hope you all enjoyed our little adventure of the day. I guess ma boi will pick up on tomorrow's adventure.**


	8. Something's Up

**GOOD EVENING WORLD! Did you think I was dead? Well, I amn't! And by that I mean I ain't, which is a word, grab a dictionary and look it up, it means am not. But anyways, Nick Write here, bringing you the Eighth chapter of On the Boardwalk! Okay, look. I was rereading the story for like the seventh time, and I decided that I want to update it. However! Tonight is the night when I have to update one of my other stories, Hurricane! Now, depending on how I feel once I finish this, I'll either go to sleep, or go ahead and update Hurricane. Yeah, also Jestergirl had no idea I'm updating. Maybe it'll even give her some inspiration. I dunno. Writing is weird, but I love it. So after three whole months, the 8th chapter of On the Boardwalk!**

The arena smelled of cold air and sweat. Two very feminine figures faced off, one holding a kite shield and a longsword, and the other holding a circular shield, and a thick pink sword. They both looked at each other seriously. The one with the kite shield looked carefully at their opponent. The stance was perfect. Lowered down, ready to defend any oncoming-

An opening!

A slight shift in position made itself apparent, and Kite shield launched forward. Circle shield attempted to block, but the shield was knocked from their hand. It disappeared in a flash, and Circle shield looked to their opponent in surprise. Kite shield allowed a grin to overtake their face, and began to visciously swing their sword, Circle shield barely able to block, but blocking nonetheless. It was obvious that Kite shield was beginning to get frustrated, to the point where they threw down their shield, and switched the sword to their left hand. It wasn't as cooridinated, but that's not what they were worried about. They swung again, causing circle shield to block, where kite reared back in one last end.

And then decked circle shield right in the nose.

In the state they were in, the blow was pretty strong, and circle shield was knocked back, engulfed in a bright light, and revealed themselves as two kids. Steven and Connie rose, both slightly rubbing their red nose. Kite shield also began to glow, revealing two taller teens. They high fived, but then turned to the two, with a knowing look.

" You threw the fight."

Steven rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, and grinned." I'm not gonna lie. Our streek was getting boring."

Nick stared down, a little miffed." Come on, Stevo, I don't like it when you hold back. It makes me feel even weaker than I already am."

Ashlon wrapped her arm around him." You aren't weak."

Nick scoffed." Comparetively."

Ashlon sighed." Whatever. But I do agree that you shouldn't hold back. We can handle it! We're pretty damned tough."

Nick chuckled." You got that right."

They all laughed good-naturedly, Pearl coming down from the seats to congratulate the two.

"Well, you did finally beat Stevonnie. Technically."

Nick and Ashlon eeriely shrugged at the same time." I guess we're just going to have to lift some weights or something."

Steven laughed." I don't know. That was a pretty hard punch."

Connied subconsciously rubbed her nose." Yeah, no kidding. A little too much if you ask me."

Nick rubbed his neck, and then shrugged." Power of love?"

Ashlon laughed." Yeah, that's it!"

The two shared a laugh, before Pearl interrupted their freindly banter.

" This is great, but it's about time to be heading back to the temple."

They looked into the sky, seeing the sun begin to fall behind the clouds. They followed Pearl back, where Steven left to take Connie home.

" I'll see you guys later!"

Nick and Ashlon waved the boy away, and sat on the couch, simply enjoying each other's company. Suddenly, something in Nick's pocket began to ring. He looked over, seeing that Ashlon had long passed out. He pulled out the device, and placed it to his ear, keeping quiet, as to not awaken the girl.

" What have you found?"

Nick grimiced." Not so loud. I haven't found much, but there are some pretty big things going on. Subject 01 is still in the dark about the mission. She has enough information to get by though."

The voice on the other end was seemingly getting impatient." That's not what I asked."

Nick sighed." Project CLUSTER is a no go. They sealed it underground. It won't be emerging any time soon."

The voice sounded pleased." Good. Anything else?"

Nick continued." The Gem Homeworld seems to be getting more hostile towards the Earth. I don't think it will be long before more war breaks out."

The voice was quiet for a moment."...Okay. Don't alert the others of your position. I will call back in a few weeks to see your progress. We need to find these gems out. They may be a threat to us. And we can't be having threats, can we Subject 02?"

Nick nodded." Of course, sir."

The voice continued." Good. Until then."

Nick looked troubled." Until then."

He hung up, and the young teen put the phone back into his pocket. He snuggled back to Ashlon, who subconsciously got closer, and not a moment later, Steven came in, breathing heavily. He looked up.

" GARNET, PEARL! THE DIAMONDS ATTACKED!"

Ashlon woke up, and Nick looked at the boy in surprise.

" Diamonds?"

The Temple door shot open, and Pearl came running out.

" THE DIAMONDS?! NO, WE AREN'T READY FOR A FULLSCALE INVASION!"

Steven held his hands out." It isn't a full scale invasion! It's Blue Diamond, and she's capturing humans, and taking them away!"

They nodded, and Nick and Ashlon stood up.

" We're coming to!"

Steven gave the two a small grin." Of course!"

Soon after, they were in the middle of town, where the diamond had been taking the captured humans. They snuck quietly, entering the room where Blue Diamond was by avoiding the guards that were all either slacking or to busy talking to notice them slip by. When they saw her, their eye's widened. She stood there, many feet tall, and a pale blue, sad, baggy eyes adorning her face as she stared into the distance. Soon, an amethyst entered the room.

" My diamond! There is one last slot to fill on the Human Zoo. What shall we do."

Blue Diamond was snapped out of her trance, and looked down on the soldier in slight disappointment.

" Go find another human, of course. We need all the slots filled."

The amethyst blushed lightly, and came to attention.

" Yes, My Diamond!"

Ashlon looked over, and noticed something missing.

Nick wasn't standing beside her like normal. She looked back, and saw him waking towards the amethyst. She panicked.

" NICK!"

At the sudden yelling of her name, they turned around, seeing the blonde boy, who looked at them in mild surprise. The ametheyst quickly grabbed him, and bound him. She grinned.

" Nevermind, My Diamond. That last spot has just filled up."

Blue Diamond nodded, almost satisfied with the work of the little soldier.

Ashlon went to cry to the other teen, but was kept quiet to the others, despite her pleas. Then, Blue Diamond stood. The building they were in was sort of short, so the top of her head almost hit the cieling. Ashlon looked around frantically.

" Where! Where did they take him?"

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. They all turned around, and saw a large blue arm raise into the sky, and fly away. Garnet seemed troubled.

" That was Blue Diamond's ship. They brought Nick into space."

 **CLIFFHANGER! Hey, I'm tired, so good night**

 **See you on the flip-side~nick write**


	9. Getting Him Back

And just like that, Nick was gone- somewhere unknown, potentially dangerous; abducted.

Ashlon turned to Garnet. "Space!? They took him to space!?" She looked frantic, hoping what Garnet said was not true.

Garnet seemed calm. "Yeah, Nick's in space." Everyone looked up through the hole in the ceiling.

Ashlon looked at everyone in disbelief. "So you guys are just gonna stand around being useless while Nick could be in danger?"

Everyone turned to look at her. Garnet was still unnervingly calm. "There's nothing we can do for him at this moment. We need to figure out a way to get into space, but until then, we need to stay calm and be thankful thank this is all that happened."

Ashlon was in utter disbelief. "All that happened? So Nick being ripped from our grasp is of no importance to you?"

Pearl started to say something. "No, Ashlon, we just need to be calm and find a strategic method of doing this that will cause the least amount of problems."

Ashlon was livid. "I don't care what will cause the 'least amount of problems.' I just want to get him back right now." She began to walk away briskly.

Steven looked worried. "Where are you going?"

Ashlon didn't answer or acknowledge that anything was said.

Steven ran after her. "Hey, wait up! Ashlon, where are you going?"

He caught up to Ashlon by sprinting and grabbed her arm. She whipped around. "I'm going to find people willing to help, so if you don't mind." She tried to nudge him away, but he refused to let go. "Steven, let me go!" She tried more forcefully to get away, but his grip was strong. "Steven!" She was jerking at her arm at this point. She suddenly turned to Steven, tears streaming down her face. Her voice was much lower and more pleading than demanding. "Please, Steven, I've got to save him. You know what it's like to love someone, don't you? What if Connie were taken from you by God knows what? You do anything possible to save her. You have to let me do this."

Steven looked up at her sad face and felt horrible. "Ashlon, I…" He saw her waiting patiently and sadly for what he had to say. Steven thought a moment. "I want you to go save Nick." He offered her a slight smile.

She grabbed him and gave him a hug. "Thank you so much, Steven."

Steven held her and whispered. "Just don't do anything too stupid."

Ashlon let go and laughed. "Oh, Steven, you and I both know I can't promise that." She began to walk away again.

Steven watched as she walked towards her own destiny. He turned back and walked to the Crystal Gems. "I let her go. You just can't persuade love."

The gems all gave him a hug. Garnet looked at him. "Well, maybe she'll let her love guide her in her journey." They all turned to see the girl in the distance.

Ashlon began thinking about where to go, who to ask. _Hmm, I need an astrophysicist to help me out. Hopefully they'll believe this bizarre story._ She ran into the Big Donut. "Hey, Sadie! Hey, Lars! Do either of you know an astrophysicist?!"

Both teens behind the counter stared wildly at the girl who barged in screaming. Sadie spoke up. "Ummm, Ashlon, what's up?"

"Nick's been taken by homeworld gems! I need an astrophysicist!"

Lars rolled his eyes. "She's been hanging with Steven too much."

Ashlon turned her attention to the boy. "So, Lars, you don't seem to believe me." She walked slowly and menacingly toward him.

Lars crossed his arms. "Of course not, Nick's probably playing a trick on you or maybe you're just crazy."

Ashlon smirked. "Crazy, eh? Well how about I show you some real crazy." She grabbed Lars by the neck and began to take him outside. "How about I trade you for him back." Lars was struggling. "What's wrong, you scared of something? I thought I was just crazy."

Lars struggled. "No, you-you're not crazy." Ashlon let go and Lars rubbed his neck. "Geez, was that necessary?"

Ashlon asked again. "Do either of you know where to find an astrophysicist?"

Sadie answered. "No, I'm sorry."

Ashlon began thinking. _Peridot and Lapis! They can probably help._ "Thanks anyway, guys!" With that, she bolted out. She ran to the car wash. "Mr. Universe! Mr. Universe!"

Greg stepped out of his van. "Whoa, what is it?"

Ashlon came to a halt in front of him. "Mr. Universe, I need your help, Nick was taken away by homeworld gems!"

Greg thought a moment. "The kid who likes my music. Oh gosh, how did that happen?!"

Ashlon was panting, trying to catch her breath. "I don't know! Blue Diamond was taking humans in town earlier and she took Nick away." Her eyes became wet.

Greg looked surprised. _Why would the Diamonds be invading now and why would they be taking humans._ He looked at the girl, noticing her watery eyes. "Aw, now don't cry. Nick is probably fine. He seems to be quite a strong boy."

Ashlon looked up. "I know that, but it doesn't change the fact that I have no idea how to get him back." She sniffled a little.

Greg pulled her into a hug. "It'll be okay, don't cry." He thought a moment and then had an idea. He released her. "I think I know who could help you figure something out."

Ashlon looked up, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Really?"

Greg smiled. "Yeah, I'm sure Peridot and Lapis could help in some way. Both of them are from Homeworld and they might know of a way to get you into space."

Ashlon wiped her face and lit up. "You're right, Mr. Universe. Thank you so much!"

Greg smiled, glad he could console her. "No problem. Hey, I can give you a ride."

Ashlon jumped for joy. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mr. Universe!"

Greg opened the passenger door for her. He smiled. "It's Greg by the way."

Ashlon smiled and buckled up, and Greg shut the door. He hopped in the driver's seat, then they took off to the barn where Peridot and Lapis lived.

When they arrived, Ashlon thanked Greg again, then ran to the barn. When she suddenly bursted through the entrance, Peridot and Lapis froze in surprise, both with crazy makeup on their faces. They stared at Ashlon in disbelief. Ashlon stared at them for a moment. "Umm, were you guys cosplaying?"

Peridot and Lapis looked at each other then back at the blonde girl. Peridot smiled sheepishly. "Maybe." She thought a moment. "Oh, you must have come for another sleepover." She looked over to Lapis. "Lazuli, get the makeup. We have a guest."

Lapis rolled her eyes. "Why can't you go get the makeup?"

Peridot frowned. "You can grow wings and fly to get it. I have no such capabilities."

Ashlon looked at them both. "No time for makeup! I need your help. Nick has been kidnapped by Blue Diamond and I need to get him back."

Peridot's jaw dropped. "Oh no! The Diamonds themselves are coming to Earth now?! We are in trouble, they're going to shatter us!" She began running around in a panic.

Lapis saw Ashlon's fear growing with Peridot's unsettling reaction. She formed a large fist of water and hit Peridot. "Calm down, you're scaring her even more."

Peridot was shocked. "But Lazuli, you and I both know how powerful Homeworld is."

Lapis looked sad. "I know very well how they can be. Things have changed since the time I lived there before the wars, but we've got to try to help."

Peridot thought a moment then lit up. "You're right, we can beat those Diamonds! We can show them who's boss. Peridot is no longer a subordinate to them, she's her own gem."

Lapis was shocked by this reaction. "Now, let's not be silly, Peridot. I said we have to help, not go crazy with confidence."

Peridot tuned her out. "We're gonna help you teach those Homeworld gems a lesson."

Ashlon looked uneasy. "Uhh, I only want to get Nick back, not get myself killed."

Peridot smirked. "Nonsense, we'll tear those clods apart and get Nick back."

Realizing they could not talk Peridot out of her crazy idea, Lapis and Ashlon looked at each other and shrugged.

Ashlon realized that they should act as soon as possible. "So, is there any way we can get to Nick?"

Peridot smiled. "Actually, there is a ship that a group of dumb Rubies left here. We could probably use that to get to wherever Nick was taken."

Ashlon was overjoyed. "Wow! That's amazing!"

Peridot nodded in agreement. "We should probably go give it a try. I'm sure I can pilot the ship, because I am well versed in newer gem ships and technology."

Ashlon happily screeched. "Yay! Let's go!"

Peridot and Lapis led Ashlon to the Ruby ship. Ashlon looked up at it, amazed that such a thing existed. They all climbed aboard and Peridot took the captain's seat. Lapis and Ashlon explored the inside of the ship. They both stopped when they heard laughing.

They ran to Peridot. "What is it?" Asked Ashlon.

Peridot laughed again. "This is basic! Too easy! Rubies are pretty dumb."

Ashlon facepalmed. "I'm glad you find this very easy."

"Of course it's very easy for me! Peridots are made to know machines." Peridot smiled contently.

"So we can get to wherever Nick may be?" Ashlon asked, trying to reassure herself.

Peridot laughed. "Well of course!"

Everyone was silent.

"So… can we leave now?"

Peridot blushed. "Oh right, of course." She pulled some levers and pushed a button and off they went.

After a few hours of space travel, they were getting nowhere.

Ashlon was pacing around the ship. "Oh my gosh, what if he's dead? What if they're doing horrible things to him? What if they're flirting with him?!" At the thought Ashlon grew livid. "I'm kicking some kidnapping gem ass when I get there! I'm gonna tear them apart!"

Peridot cleared her throat. "Well, you can't exactly 'tear them apart'. To destroy a gem, you have to shatter it."

"And I'm sure they're not flirting with him. Homeworld gems have no such interest in humans. Him being dead is a more likely reality." Lapis continued to look out of the windows at the openness of space.

"Thank you, Lapis." Ashlon said sarcastically.

"It's true though."

"Umm, guys. I think it best that you prepare to go through some shape shifting as we increase speed to get there within the next day." The green gem announced.

"Shape shifting? My body can't shape shift!" Ashlon was frantic.

Peridot but her lip. "Well, uhh, prepare for extreme bodily sensations then."

As she said that, the ship burst forth higher than the speed of light. Peridot and Lapis began to change all sorts of weird ways. Ashlon watched and soon felt a sensation of her head about to burst. She held onto her head and closed her eyes tightly.

What seemed like just seconds later, Peridot and Lapis were leaning over her. Both looked terrified. Ashlon opened her eyes. "What happened?"

Both gems sighed in relief that their friend was still alive. "Well," Peridot began, "You seemed to have gone unconscious. We were fine because our bodies are made of light, but I guess yours felt the impact differently."

Ashlon sat up. "Are we there? Are we at Homeworld?"

Lapis helped the girl up and led her to the window. "There's Homeworld." The blue gem pointed across empty space to a large planet that seemed to be radiating its own light as if it were a star.

Ashlon stared in disbelief. "So Nick is there?"

"If that's where Blue Diamond took him, then yes." The green gem stared in shock. _Yellow Diamond is so gonna shatter me._

Ashlon turned to look at the green gem and noticed her expression. "Peridot, you okay?"

Peridot looked at her, worry evident in her eyes. "Well, ya see, Yellow Diamond and I aren't exactly on good terms. I sort of completely disobeyed her orders and called her a clod. I'm almost certain she will shatter me." She trembled at the thought.

Ashlon gave a sympathetic smile. "I won't let that happen. I've already lost someone dear to me and I'll be darned if I lose another to these damned diamonds."

Peridot smiled. "Yellow Diamond is much more powerful than both of us and she also has an army of followers."

Ashlon put her hands on her hips. "Well, she may be strong, but we're clever."

Peridot puffed out her chest pridefully. "Yeah, we're way more clever than those dumb clods!"

Lapis giggled. "Don't get too cocky."

The girls laughed.

Ashlon looked out the window again and saw that they were quickly approaching the planet. "Homeworld, here we come."


	10. The Truth Comes Out

Nick glared half heartedly at the amethyst that was draging him off of the ship, and onto Homeworld. Really it was just to keep the facade that he was a helpless victim in this situation. His mind was going 90 miles per hour, though. He knew that Ashlon would be upset but that would just have to be something he'd deal with later. Right now he had bigger problems on his hands. More specifically, he needed to be alone, for just a few minutes. Luckily, he got his wish. The amethyst threw him into a container, and he pulled out his device. He was pushed through on a conveyor belt, getting a new pair of clothes, and a weird ear ring. He frowned. Not really his style. The machine spit him out into a shallow, beach type area, with no one around. Acting quickly, he dialed the number for the base.

"Subject 02. Have you found any important information."

He grinned. "These gems don't suspect a thing. Of course, I had to leave Subject 01 behind. As much as I hate it, her morality could jeaprodize the mission. I care about her too much for the consequences of failure to befall her."

Nick could almost feel the man on the other side nod. "Very well. Where are you at the moment?"

The teen looked around. "Seemingly somewhere on one of Homeworld's bases. You have my coordinates. Send a team here as fast as you can. One of the leaders came with me. I'm going to break out of confinement and pass my way out. Until then."

The man responded. "Until then."

Nick disabled the device, and pressed a button on it's side, and it morphed slowly into a chisel, sparking with electro-magnetic energy. He had to get out of here. Suddenly, he saw something. A very familiar Greg Universe was standing on the beach, his usual wild and unkempt hair, now tied into a clean braid. He seemed surprised.

"Hey! Aren't you Nick?"

Nick grinned. "Oh hey Mr. Universe! Fancy seeing you here."

The old rock-star chuckled good naturedly. "So they got you to?"

The teen rubbed his neck sheepishly." Yeah. Guess we're just going to have to break out somehow?"

Greg laughed. "I found a door, but it's not opening from this side any time soon. Trust me, I tried. We'll just have to wait for the gems to come get us."

Nick frowned a little, but hid it relatively quickly. "I'll be the judge of that. I want you to bring me to the door, please."

Greg looked confused for a second, before shrugging. "Probably can't hurt to try."

The two walked back to the where the door was, and Nick inspected it closely. He frowned when he saw that there weren't any control panels on this side. He sighed and stood up.

"Looks like we're stuck here for the time being."

Greg nodded. "I guess."

The two walked back to the rest of the people, and Nick was lost deep in thought. The old rock star looked a little concerned.

"Hey, I've noticed that you've been acting a little differently since the last time I saw you. Is it because you don't have you're girlfriend here."

He shook his head. "On the contrary. Knowing that she's back on Earth, safe from any of this makes me very happy. I'm just trying to think of a way to get us out."

Greg shrugged, munching on one of the purple friut from the tree. Nick looked carefully, before hearing the feminine voice that had been speaking to the two rang out.

" It's time to go for a bath."

The other humans happily jumped in the water. Nick watched as they played and played, and he suddenly thought of something. The playing. The bathing. The sustaining in general. For an alien covenant of merciless conquerors, they sure did treat these humans here luxoriusly. He frowned. Perhaps they would come in if one got hurt. So he grinned, and pointed to a young looking man with black hair, and deep brown eyes. The man walked over with a huge grin on his face.

"Hello! What did you want?"

Nick stood up carefully, and stretched.

Before punching him square in the jaw.

The man immediately went down, twitching some before going completely unconscious. Nick looked at the horror of the other humans, and the surprise and confusion Greg had written all over his face. Suddenly, an alarm sounded out, and the door opened, a swarm of amethysts came from the garden wall. Nick grabbed Greg's arm, and the two sprinted out, careful to escape. Greg looked over to Nick.

"So what now?"

The teen frowned. "No idea."

Soon, the sound of marching could be heard coming back their direction, and the two hid in the nearby corridor. Nick cursed under hid breath, and pulled out the phone-like device from his pocket.

"Headquartes. Update on that squad you sent. We've got a prisoner. Another human, Greg Universe to be exact. They'll arrive shortly? Good. We have to get out of here as soon as possible. I can't take on both diamonds by myself. Subject 01 should still be on Earth, why do you ask? Her tracker is on the base already?! That doesn't make any sense. Gah, I'll track her down, don't worry. Ok."

He slammed the device shut, and shoved it into his pocket, and faced Greg, who had a confused look on his face.

"What was that about?"

Nick frowned. "Buisness. Ashlon is on the base. I don't know how the hell she got here, but we've got to find her before the gems do. I've got her tracker here."

He tapped his wrist watch, and a small red dot appeared on the screen. Greg was still confused. He held up his hands.

"Look, I don't get it. What is all this about?"

Nick groaned. "It's nothing you need to worry about Greg, we've got it covered."

He continued to ignore Greg's questioning, and they followed the bleeping light to a space near the docking bay. Hushed voices could be heared from inside, and Nick glanced at his watch, the light being directly in front of him. He opened the door, and saw Peridot, Lapis, and Ashlon all sitting there, seemingly discussing some plans. They froze in shock when the door open, but it quickly dispersed when they saw who it was. Nick turned to Ashlon.

"What the hell are you doing here?

Ashlon frowned. "What do you mean? I came to save you."

Nick frowned as well. "You could've gotten yourself killed. You should've stayed on Earth."

The girl stood and looked at Nick incrediously. "Gotten _myself_ killed? You're the one that got captured!"

Nick bared his teeth. "I got captured willingly! It's a part of our mission!"

Ashlon angrily looked at him. "Our mission?! Our mission is to gather intel on the gems! We were doing just fine!"

Nick shook his head, and his voice grew softer. "Ashlon, that's not our mission. Not fully at least."

Ashlon looked at him, obviously confused. "What do you mean."

The boy cursed, and looked at Ashlon sadly. "Your moralitly was a liability on the mission, so I couldn't tell you the full story. We have to eliminate the gems."

The room grew silent, as Ashlon looked at him incrediously.

"All of them?"

Nick nodded sadly. Ashlon looked at Lapis and Peridot, who had varying levels of shock and sadness on their faces.

Ashlon looked back to Nick, who's eyes were downcast, looking at the floor sadly. She spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Even Steven?"

Nick jumped in surprise. "God no! He's a kid, and half human. I was ordered to bring him back to the institution. He'd have a memory wipe of the gems, and he'd join as a special ops agent, like you and me."

Ashlon gave Nick a pleading look. "Nick, we can't."

His look grew even more guilty. "We have orders. This is exactly why I couldn't tell you."

Ashlon was nearly on the verge of tears, but Nick wasn't budging from his stance. "But they're our friends! You can't deny that Nick! I know you well enough to know that you can't fake stuff like that!"

Nick covered his eyes with his hand. "I know. But they have a nature, Ashlon. They're conquerers, and if it weren't for the sudden whims of a soldier, humanity would probably be gone, save for that Zoo there. If even that. They're rocks when it comes down to it, and rocks are ridgid. Their make-up can't change."

Ashlon stepped forward. "But you can shape them. Into anything you want. You say that they can't change, but what about the resistance, and the rebels. Crystal Gems? Any of that ring a bell."

Nick nodded. "I said they have a nature. One day a soldier decided that she wanted power, so she turned on her home, and pushed them back. Rose Quartz shattered Pink Diamond herself."

This time, Greg spoke up. "You don't know a damned thing about Rose! She loved this planet, and all the life, and everything else. And you and your organization want to come back and ruin all her work to keep our species alive!?"

Ashlon nodded. "I agree with Greg! How can you go along with this Nick?"

Nick punched the wall full force, and it dented some. He looked ready to yell in anger, but stayed deathly quiet. His voice shook as he spoke.

"We cannot fail this mission Ashlon, because your morals interferred with it. They'll scrap you if we do and-" His voice broke off, and he slumped down to the wall, and ran a hand through his hair. "I can't loose you like we've lost everything else." He looked up to her with a shaky grin on his face. "You're all I have left." Ashlon let her tears fall. She wrapped her arms around his body, where he gently soothed her. He looked to Lapis and Peridot, who were still cautious seeming. He gave them an apologetic smile.

"She wasn't lying. I really do consider you two to be friends. But you have to understand."

They both nodded. They were gems after all, and they would face severe consequences if ever caught for their betrayl. Nick chuckled.

"Funnily enough, the Diamonds and the organization we work for aren't really that different are they."

And they sat in the room in silence.


	11. Not Gonna Kill

**I'm back from the depths of no inspiration! Yayyyyyyy! Have fun.**

Ashlon pulled back and looked at Nick sadly. "We really don't have to. We can rebel." She had a genuine look of hope in her eyes.

Nick looked at her and looked away. "No, we can't. It's not that easy."

Peridot spoke up. "Um, do we need to run for our lives?"

Ashlon looked over and cried. Nick turned and sort of chuckled. "Where to? Outside amongst the gems you betrayed so that they can tear you apart?"

Peridot laughed. "Well, no, not exactly. Actually yes, but I think that I can handle those clods."

Greg looked at her worriedly. "Umm, I'm not too sure you and Lapis can face those amethysts alone. There are so many of them."

Ashlon stood up and walked out of the ship.

Nick watched her, dumbfounded. "What are you doing?"

Ashlon sniffled. "About to watch my friends leave to God knows where to escape a cruel fate. We can't be expected to kill them if we can't find them now can we?"

Greg and Nick looked at each other.

Peridot ran towards her. "Wait, Ashlon, what are you doing?"

Ashlon was about to cry but sucked it up. "Stop! Don't come out here, you and Lapis need this ship to escape. Don't get near me because I'm supposed to kill you but can't. I love you guys so do me a favor and get out of here now."

Peridot had a shocked expression of both hurt and relief. She walked back into the ship.

Greg looked at Nick confused. "So umm, are you going with her? I can't exactly watch her walk out into this place alone and not feel weird about it."

Nick was just in disbelief. _She didn't even give me any forewarning. No mention, nothing._ He looked to Greg. "She's sort of right, we can't kill them if we can't find them." He stood up and walked to Peridot and Lapis. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience. It really wouldn't have been personal, just following orders, but since Ashlon is so sweet and took her own initiative, I'm gonna respect that. Good bye, friends. Go someplace we will never find you." He walked out with Greg following. He saw Ashlon with her back facing the ship, trembling. He went to touch her shoulder.

She whipped around. "Peridot, I said… oh." She grew silent.

Nick put both his hands on her shoulders and looked into her shiny eyes, glistening with salty tears. He smiled slightly.

Ashlon began to sob. He pulled her into a tight embrace. She cried into his chest. "Shhh, it's okay."

She began to talk into his shirt. "I-I thought you'd be mad at me for not talking to you about that. I'm so sorry, I just can't let them die."

Nick pulled back to look into her eyes. "Mad? I'm not mad, that took guts. To totally decide on your own not caring what other people thought. And there is no need to be sorry, sweets. I care about your well-being more than this mission. I knew you wouldn't be able to go through with this. You are right, we can't kill who we can't find."

Ashlon offered a weak smile. "You mean that?"

Nick smiled softly and motioned to his body. "Well, I am off the ship, aren't I?"

Ashlon threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you so much, Nick."

He wrapped her in his arms, savoring the moment of embrace.

Greg, Peridot, and Lapis were all watching.

The two teens split, both smiling. Ashlon looked around. "So what are we gonna do?"

Nick chuckled. "I don't know, you're the one who impulsively made the decision to leave the ship without any sort of plan beyond that."

Ashlon frowned. "Stop. I'm saving lives. And besides, you followed me out here."

Nick smirked. "I have to be here to protect you. I may have been the one to follow you off the ship but you are the one who followed me into space."

Ashlon glared at him. "I came to save you!"

Nick smiled. "Awwww, don't get angry. You did save me, from being in danger's way without my partner at least." He pulled her in and squeezed her.

She pulled away, noticing the two gems and the former rock star staring at them. She blushed. "Sorry, guys." She walked to the ship entrance and ran to give Peridot and Lapis hugs. "I'll miss you two." She smiled sadly. "Maybe someday, I'll find you again and be able to be at peace." She exited the ship and waved. Nick, Greg, and Ashlon all watched as the ship started up and took off.

Greg had a look of panic in his eyes. "That was our only way back to Earth!"

Nick shrugged. "Nah, there are plenty of ships to steal here." He motioned to all the other glistening ships in the area. "But we aren't leaving yet."

Greg was confused. "I gotta get back to Steven. Aren't you two ready to leave?"

Nick frowned. "I don't really want to be here, but I've got business to finish."

Ashlon looked worried. "So we do have to kill the gems here?"

"Yes."

She was silent. "Okay." She thought a moment and started pacing when all of a sudden, a multitude of footsteps could be heard heading in their direction. "Hide!" They scattered to hide.

A group of amethysts cane rushing in. The leader of the group spoke. "Where did those humans go?"

One of the amethysts answered. "I'm not sure, but they sure as hell are making our jobs harder."

Another amethyst pitched in. "Why do they want to escape their little enclosure anyway? I mean, we feed them, don't we?"

The first amethyst chuckled. "Humans are so ungrateful. This free will of theirs is gonna get them into trouble and get the diamonds up our asses."

All of a sudden, a clank was heard down a corridor. "This way!" All the amethysts ran in unison.

Ashlon crawled out of her crevice between two ships. "I think it's safe now." Nick emerged from underneath one ship and Greg came from around a corner. "Nick, how do we get out of this?"

Nick laughed. "You mean you wanna leave?"

Ashlon frowned. "No damnit, how do we complete this damn mission and get out of here?"

Greg was in awe. What once was a sweet, happy girl was now serious as can be.

Nick smiled. "Ashlon, you want to kill creatures?"

She looked him dead in the eyes. "No, I don't want to kill anyone, but now that my friends are out of the way, I'm gonna have to force myself to be useful for us. I want both of us to make it through this. We were made for this purpose and you said it yourself— it's not easy to rebel."

He looked at her. "Okay. Well, we're gonna need some weapons to use in order to poof these gems first."

Greg lit up. "I'm sure there are plenty of weapons here. We are in a lair of gem soldiers after all."

Nick went up to a ship and inspected. "We're gonna have to get one of these things open to scrounge." He looked around intently. "Ah hah." He pressed a tiny white button and a door opened. He motioned for Ashlon. "Milady." He offered her his hand and allowed her to enter first. She blushed and ran in.

"Wow, this is so cool!" Ashlon was already in one corner checking out some buttons and screens.

Nick chuckled. "You act like you've never seen the inside of a gem ship before."

She turned around. "The last one was different. This one is much fancier on the inside." She pressed some buttons.

Greg looked over. "Whatcha doing?"

Ashlon shrugged. "Trying stuff." She pressed another button and the door closed. "Okay, so that does that." She pressed more buttons, causing different lights to flash and different monitors to come on. She pressed a bright yellow button and a closet opened across the ship. She ran in and came back out with a sword. "Weapons, we found weapons!" She started waving it around excitedly. "Nick, we can use the moves Pearl taught us!" She was beaming with delight.

Nick smiled warmly. "That we can indeed." He stepped into the closet to get a sword of his own. He came back out. "Ah yeah, look at this bad boy." He thrust it forward and smiled, very pleased.

Greg chuckled. "That would be an amazing album cover, kid. That pose is off the wall."

Nick blushed. "Thanks."

Ashlon was back at the button table swinging her sword about wildly. "This is what I'm talking about. I'm gonna kick ass."

Nick laughed. "Yeah you are, sweets. Especially with that kick-ass ass of yours." He winked.

Ashlon blushed. "You're one to be talking, cute stuff." She walked up to him slowly, looking up at him as she stopped close in front.

"You're the cute one, hun." He smirked and grabbed her by the waist. "Almost cute enough to—"

Greg cleared his throat. "I'm still here, ya know."

Both teens turned around red-faced. "Sorry, Mr. Universe."

Greg laughed. "I told you, call me Greg."

They laughed.

Greg had a sword in his hand, looking at it confused.

Nick noticed the expression. "Uh, do you know how to fight?"

Greg looked from the sword to the boy and back to the sword. "Uhh, well, I haven't exactly done it before. I know Steven knows how to fight and that's he's good at it, but I've never dropped by to watch one of the training sessions." He smiled, sort of embarrassed.

Ashlon smiled. "Don't be embarrassed. I suck at fighting compared to this guy." She nudged Nick.

Nick smiled. "No you don't." He turned to Greg. "But she is right, there's no need to be embarrassed. We can teach you."


	12. Too Bad, You Don't Get A Say In This

Greg looked over to Nick, curious. "Really?"

The teen nodded. "Yeah. I may not look it, but I'm a highly trained weapons master, and Ashlon is a weaponsmith. Although, she doesn't do it very often."

The girl shrugged. "Well, honestly, it's kind of boring. I'd rather have all the action like Nick." She karate chopped the air, and Nick chuckled.

"Yeah, well it's not all cracked up to what it seems. Lemme see here." He grabbed a large hammer from the wall.

"So, how comfortable are you with the mass shattering of a gem colony?"

Greg frowned. "Not very."

Nick nodded. "Good. This isn't going to be fun. I don't want any hesitation when we get out there. Those gems are trying to kill us. We are fighting back. Ashlon."

The girl turned. "Yeah?"

The boy grinned. "I have an idea."

The door to the weapons bay area opened slowly, much to the confusion of the surrounding Amethyst gems. They walked over to inspect it, and a guitar riff sounded out. The waves of energy slammed into the bodies of the quartz soldiers, and their forms destabilized. Quickly, Nick rushed out with the hammer, and began to mercilessly crush gems under it. Ashlon did the same, albiet much more reluctant. Once all the gems had been reduced to shards, Nick sighed deeply, and rest the hammer on his shoulder. Ashlon frowned.

"That felt way worse than I expected."

Nick nodded. "It's best not to think about it."

He turned to the other two. "This isn't my first rodeo. I've had to kill for the institution before."

Ashlon frowned, and Greg's face was a pale white. They were inturrupted when footsteps echoed throughout the hall way. Nick turned to Greg.

"Get ready!"

Greg rose his pick into the air, and prepared to strum a chord on the guitar that Ashlon had fashioned out of a computer monitor. Holly Blue Agate, as well as the rest of the Amethyst guard came rushing in, and they all froze at the sight of the shattered gems. Holly Blue was the first to speak.

"You...you didn't..."

She summoned her whip, and growled ferally. "Those were my amethysts! My subordinates! My...my friends...you'll pay for this!"

She rushed forward, and Greg turned away, strumming the chord fully, and letting the noise echo through the base. Once again, the gem's forms quivered, and they all dissipated into thin air. Holly Blue still stood, however. Nick rushed forward and engaged her in combat. She glared at him, as he swung the hammer around.

"What kind of savage beast would do this?"

Nick glared at the blue gem, and spoke, his voice cold and final.

"The same kind of savage beast that your kind slaughtered to ensure your survival. I'm simply returning the favor."

He brought the hammer down, crushing Holly Blue's form, and shattering her gem at the same time. He then began crushing Amethyst gems before they could reform, Greg and Ashlon flinching every time a sickening crunch echoed through the corridor. Once he was done, Nick threw the hammer down, and crashed to his knees, vomiting loudly. Ashlon went over to him, and gently put a hand on his back. Greg walked over as well, and frowned at the teen.

"Are you okay?"

He rose to his feet shakily. "Honestly? No. It never gets any easier. At least they're all together in whatever Heaven or Hell these things beleive in."

Ashlon shook her head. "But that's the last of them? What do we do now?"

Nick looked over to her. "There's a reinforcement team coming. Both Yellow and Blue Diamond are present on this base. We need to get any innocents out of the crossfire once they arrive. They'll be going for both of the diamonds. At that point, we make a break for it, drop the humans off in Beach City, and then we speed off somewhere remote, where we can't be tracked. Where we won't ever have to deal with the institution again."

The blonde girl frowned. "So now you're ready to run away?"

Nick gave her a questioning glance. "This is the most logical course of action. Earth will most likely be caught up in a huge war for the second time, and it very well may end up with Armegeddon as we know it. Hell, honestly, I wouldn't mind taking a few people along, Greg and Steven, and his little friend Connie, and maybe some of the humans from the zoo. But I can't let you get hurt."

Ashlon furrowed her eyebrows. "What it sounds like to me is that you don't trust me to handle myself!"

Nick looked over to her in surprise. "That's not what I meant at all! If I lost you because of some stupid war we have no buisiness being in, I don't know what I'd do! You know this!"

Ashlon growled in exasperation. "That's the most selfish thing! I can't leave behind all these people that have lives to live as well to just die! We made this our buisiness when we came here for the institution."

The teen boy yelled. "IT'S THE DAMN INSTITUTIONS FAULT THAT WE EXIST IN THE FIRST PLACE, DAMMIT! WE'RE THEIR TOOLS, ASHLON, THEY DON'T CARE! AND MAYBE IT IS SELFISH! BUT I NEED YOU."

She yelled right back. "WELL I DO CARE! THAT PLANET IS MY HOME, AND I WON'T ABANDON IT FOR MY OWN SAFETY. THOSE PEOPLE ARE SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN ME!"

Greg stepped forward. "Both of you stop! We don't have time for this! We need to get the humans and get off this base!"

Nick ran a hand through his hair, and threw his glasses down in anger. "Why did all of this have to get so damned complicated..."

No one responded, and they walked swiftly to the human zoo door. Nick kicked the panel, and the door creaked open. The humans stood there curiously. Nick frowned.

"Come on. We've got to go."

The assumed leader of the space humans stepped forward. "Go where."

Ashlon smiled gently to them. "We're taking you guys home."

They looked at each other, confused, but followed nontheless. Nick loaded them on the ship, and turned to Ashlon.

"Think you can fly this thing?"

Ashlon nodded, a frown on her face. "Yeah."

She turned, and headed towards the controls. Nick watched her, a conflicted expression on his face. He shook his head, and pulled out his device, and called to the head of the institution.

"Subject 01 and I have rescued a total of 31 humans, and will be returning to Earth shortly. The Diamonds remain on the base, but the other gems have been shattered accordingly."

The voice on the other end was different from before. The head must be on break.

"Very well. According to the GPS, the reinforcement team will arrive at the base in a total of 9 seconds. We will relay this information to them."

Nick nodded. "Thank you."

He hung the device up, and slid against the wall. Greg approached him.

"Hey, kiddo. You okay big guy."

Nick sighed angrily. "Everything has gone to shit. It was supposed to be a simple mission. Deal with the gems on Earth, and eliminate the threat of global conquering. The institution was greedy though. They wanted the damned diamonds gone as well. Then Ashlon did what she does, and the cover of the mission was blown. I fear that may have done a serious blow in our relationship."

Greg seemed surprised for a bit, before sitting down beside the teen.

"Well, I might not be the most well versed into whatever is going on around here, but I do know that if what you two have is truly love, then I think you'll be able to stick it out."

Nick nodded. "You know, I honestly had a good time hanging out with all of you. And I really don't want it to be the way it is. But I've got my own mission, and that's to keep her safe. She really is all that I have, and I know that she'll be scrapped if I screw up. They already wanted to. She's too empathetic, too friendly, too human. And maybe I'm the same way. Just better at hiding it."

Almost as if she knew she was being talked about, Ashlon looked back from the controls of the ship. Nick gave her a small, sad smile, and her eyes softened, and she gave a small smile back. Once she turned around, Nick frowned agian.

"That's why I can't let her fight this fight. We have to leave it all behind. And honestly, Mr. Universe, I want you, Steven, and Connie to come with us. But I know that Steven will want to stay and protect his friends, and I'm sure you'll stay with him, Connie as well. And it will be rough getting Ashlon to come."

Greg nodded. It felt strange to talk about it, Nick seemingly hinting at the essential end of the world. It gave Greg a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he knew he had to stay with Steven. The same reason Nick had to have Ashlon, really. He was all he had left.

"I know what you mean. If I lose Steven, I'll run fresh out of family."

Nick gave a short, sad chuckle, and the quiet atmosphere returned. Ashlon opened a hatch, and looked back.

"We're going into hyper speed, guys. Hold on."

And with the flick of a switch, Nick felt the pressure of going at faster than light speeds push against him. He felt as if he were being shred into thounsands of tiny peices, an then he blacked out.

When he awoke, the ship was floating freely several hundred miles above Earth. Looking around, he noticed people were beggining to stir, including Ashlon, whom he walked over to, and gently helped up.

"Thank you. That was rough, and my head is killing me." She groaned softly, and Nick rubbed her back.

"I'll land the ship. Don't worry."

She nodded, and mumbled a quick thank you, and Nick headed over to the controls. He studied them for a moment, before bringing the ship to a slow and steady decent to the surface of the planet. He landed on Beach City, and the bay door opened, with several of the zoo humans walking out in awe. Steven and the gems rushed out of the door, Steven greeting them warmly, while the gems stayed at a much more cautious distance, specifically from Nick and Ashlon. Steven grinned.

"Guys your back!"

Ashlon smiled. "Yeah! Isn't it great."

Nick nodded. "Unfortunately, it won't last long."

They looked over to the teen in confusion. He shook his head sadly.

"Steven. It's time you learned the truth about why we're here.


End file.
